The Dark Champion
by Juubi-K
Summary: What if someone had intervened when Oikawa kidnapped Ken?  (Contains Kenyako, battles and new characters) COMPLETE
1. Default Chapter

'The Dark Champion' 

Disclaimer- I don't own Digimon. Toei and Bandai do. Nor do I own any of the other trademarks I might happen to use. This is non profit making fanfiction. If you see anything that belongs to someone else, assume that I do not own it. If you see anything that is yours, sorry. I don't want to offend anyone. This is my first fanfic. 

****

"For into Darkness fell his star,

In Mordor where the shadows are"

_JRR Tolkein 'The Lord of the Rings'_

The van screeched as it took another corner at insane speed. A bang and swoosh could be heard as yet another hydrant was sent flying. 

Inside the van, all Ken could see was the cadaverous face with its black eyes boring into his. All he could feel was the agony as Oikawa's bar-code reader lookalike burned through his flesh. It drained him, drained the dark spore, from which energy came when his despair was greatest. The power that had temporarily made him Emperor of the Digital world had left him some time ago, but the spore remained.

Oikawa's smile widened as the device in his hand beeped its report. The process was complete. He slid the device into a pocket of his long coat and turned his attention to Ken, who sat slumped on the floor, shivering, his eyes glazed but still moving. 

"I have what I need, former Emperor, and I now have little use for you."

He gestured at two of the children, who got up and moved to the doors. Oikawa straightened up, insofar as he could in the cramped space, and grinned again as the two each placed a hand on a door handle. 

Ken was desperate, he had to do something, he could let this happen to them.

"You don't want to be what I was. Nothing is worth that." 

"Goodbye, former Emperor."

Oikawa nodded. The doors were opened. Oikawa brought back his foot and landed a kick in Ken's side. He slid across the floor and through the doors. With another nod, the doors were closed. Oikawa turned and moved to the front of the van to flirt with Arukennimon some more.

Ken lay in the road, barely conscious. All he could see was the van racing away from him. He could hear the sound of a car approaching at high speed, but he couldn't move. His hands were still tied and his muscles were going limp. 

He watched as all of a sudden the van came to a halt. He could hear a screech of tires as it tried to reverse. Reverse from what?

As Ken's vision blurred, the van was being drawn inexorably forward. He heard a car pull up suddenly behind him, voices shouting his name, running footsteps.

Nothing.

****

The room was filled with view screens and control panels, flashing lights and diagnostic displays. Catlike Gatomon moved between displays and panels. The door slid open, and a pair of armoured Reborn stepped through and halted either side of the door. Another figure, clad in black robes stepped through. The Gatomon formed a semicircle, folded their arms and bowed. A child, clad in a black suit, knelt with his right fist over his heart, as only someone of his status could do. The robed figure strode into the centre of the semicircle, facing the kneeling boy. 

"Conrad, Master Scientist, give me your report" the figure said imperiously. 

"Excellency," Conrad replied, looking his master in his hooded face. "I have analysed the children and the results are unfortunate. They have no partners and are too young and sickly to be of any other use."

"Very well, wipe their memories and prepare them to be returned. Now what of Oikawa?"

"Return to your duties" Conrad said curtly to the Gatomon. They bowed and continued as they had before. Conrad rose to his feet and fell in beside his master as they moved towards another door at the opposite end of the room.

"We have Oikawa and his two followers subdued, Excellency. They will not be a problem but I'm afraid Oikawa is proving somewhat intractable. The entity has resisted our coaxing and will have to be removed by force. I'm not certain Oikawa will survive."

Once they were beyond the doorway, the Master turned to Conrad and lowered his hood, revealing a pale, heavily built face, topped with white blond hair. The master was unusually well built as twelve-year-olds went, but his dark eyes and his regal bearing were truly beyond his few years. Those eyes looked into Conrad's green eyes, gazed into his very soul. He could not help but shiver. The master only removed his hood when he wanted to be clear.

"Conrad," the Master said levelly. "What I ask of you is difficult, but must be done nevertheless. The entity known as Myotismon must be removed from Oikawa or else he may regain physical form and restore his powers. This cannot be allowed to happen. You will begin the removal process immediately."

The Master turned and left the room. Conrad's heart sank. The Master was asking him to run the most terrible of risks. If Oikawa died, then that death would be on his conscience.

Then he remembered what the Master had said, that if Myotismon were to return, then innocent people and digimon would suffer and the Master's plans for the world would be thwarted. One life was worth losing to save others, and to bring about the future the Master intended.

His mind set, his conscience clear, Conrad turned to the control panel set in the wall of the narrow anteroom. A large panel slid aside in the wall above the controls, giving him a view into the chamber below. In the chamber stood a diagnostic table, such as might be found in an operating theatre, but with an armature hanging from the ceiling over it. 

He tapped his right cheek piece, and a small microphone slid into place over his mouth. 

"Bring in Oikawa. We begin at once."

As he watched Oikawa being brought in, he heard a little voice from the floor beside him.

"Conrad, are we to do it now?"

"Yes Psymon," Conrad replied.

"I heard you talking to his Excellency, is this really the only way?"

Conrad knelt to look into the tiny creature's face. It looked back, cherubic and innocent looking as always. Conrad smiled and picked Psymon up. 

"It's the only way that'll work. He might die, but I suppose it's better than living with Myotismon inside him. We can't let him come back. But…"

Conrad trailed off, his smile faltered. Down there was a human being, a human being who would die or be cursed to eternity as host to a demon if he made one little mistake. The pressure weighed on him, like a millstone around his neck. Fail and be pushed in the river.

His cheeks felt warm, and he returned from his reverie to see that Psymon had enfolded his head in his over-sized ears, a childish attempt to soothe his pain. But with warmth and comfort came fear and desperation.

"Why does he always make me do things like this Psymon?" he asked, his voice cracking, tears rolling down his face.

"Because you're the only one here who can," Psymon fixed him with a green-eyed stare. He believes in you, _I_ believe in you."

Conrad fought back the torrent, wiped the tears from his face, placed Psymon gently on the control panel and stood up.

"You're right Psymon, I have to do it." He brightened suddenly, "want to help me out?"

"Sure!" The little creature began to dance about the control panel, pressing buttons with his ears. Feeling much better for knowing his partner was with him, Conrad turned to the window. A pair of gazumon slid the stretcher on which Oikawa was strapped off the trolley and onto the operating table. Psymon hit some more switches and the armature moved into position above Oikawa's head. The gazumon quickly retreated, taking the trolley with them. Once the doors were secured, Conrad took a deep breath and turned to his partner.

"Ready Mr Psymon? ", he said with a grin. 

"Ready when you are, Mr Conrad! " saluting him with one ear, enjoying the joke.

"Okay, begin with 50 percent power."

__

****

(Odaiba, 1 month later) 

"Where's Miyako?" Daisuke grizzled, "if we wait any longer we'll be waiting till next Christmas."

"Don't worry!" said Takeru cheerily. "She's probably just stopped to pick up some diapers." Daisuke fumed, remembering their early days in the digital world, when he accidentally let slip his most embarrassing secret, mistakenly believing his sister to have blabbed already. 

The Chosen had once again made the computer lab their meeting place, the detentions having been moved to bleaker climes. It was the end of the first day back at school, and the team would be able to visit the digital world more regularly since the computer lab could be accessed easily. But despite Daisuke's grumbling, everyone had a reason to be excited.

Ken had sent them all a message asking them to meet him in the digital world this afternoon. This had been the first word they had heard from him since December. After they had found him lying unconscious in the road that cold night shortly before Christmas, Ken had not been the same. His physical injuries were not a problem, but he was damaged, deep down.

Ken had spent the rest of the holidays in a 'psycho ward', as Daisuke had so eloquently put it, receiving therapy. Everyone had been worried; Miyako in particular, but everything seemed all right now. The message had been quite cheerful. 

And the one thing keeping them from finding out was Miyako's tardiness. 

Then finally, a familiar voice came from the door.

"Hi guys! Sorry I'm late!" And there was Miyako, standing grinning in the doorway, but there was a nervous edge to her sunny disposition. 

"What took you so long!" Daisuke almost yelled.

Miyako looked slightly embarrassed as she emptied the bag of snacks onto the floor for the digimon.

"I had to make a quick," she paused, "stopover! Yeah a stopover." 

There was a longer pause.

"Miyako?" said Iori, sniffing the air. "Are you wearing perfume?"

Miyako exploded. "ALL RIGHT ALL RIGHT I'M LATE BECAUSE I WAS GETTING READY! ARE YOU SATISFIED?" 

Her face went livid and seemed to swell up with unleashed tension and anger. Iori looked very, very, scared. Hikari quickly stepped between them.

"Okay, okay, calm down Miyako!" she said, half laughing.

Miyako's face returned to normal, she folded her arms and humphed loudly. 

"I don't see what's so wrong with wearing something special, since they've finally let my beloved Ken-chan out of that awful psycho ward." 

"There's nothing wrong with it at all" Hikari insisted in her sensitive voice, rubbing Miyako's shoulders and shooting warning glances at the others. 

"Can we go now please?" Takeru said in exasperation.

(My first chapter. How was it? Please review so that I can avoid wasting time and effort on a fanfic that nobody wants to read. Also please report any abuses so that I can remove them.) 


	2. An eventful reunion

Disclaimer – We've been through this already, I don't own digimon or anything else I might happen to use. You'll know what I mean.

(Many thanks to heath 999 and evil little person for their reviews. You've given me the confidence to carry on. I'll try to update as regularly as possible. This is an improved version.)

Chapter 2

They stepped through the digiport and into an arid wasteland, one of the most conventional regions of the digital world they had ever visited.

"Okay" said Miyako, looking at the map on her D3 "Ken said he would be at the Yokomon village, which should be somewhere around here."

"Yokomon village?" Takeru queried. "I thought I'd been here before." 

He had, some years previously, along with his older brother Matt and the others. They had defended the Yokomon from a Meramon corrupted by Black gears. So they set off, Takeru having taken over map reading duties because he didn't want to wander in the desert until Shai-Hulud came home. Miyako's behaviour was becoming increasingly erratic. 

After walking for some time, they perceived a small dust cloud rising from behind a set of dunes a short distance away. It faded, and then another cloud rose, then it faded away. Then another, and another. 

They stood there looking at this peculiar phenomenon, wondering what it was.

Until they heard the first explosion, which snapped them from their shared reverie.

"There must be a battle going on down there!" Iori yelled over the sudden din. "It must be coming from near the village!"

"Someone's fighting Ken!" Hikari called in reply, "we have to hurry and help him!"

"Yeah!" Miyako said belligerently, pointing her digivice at Hawkmon. "Nobody attacks my darling Ken-chan and gets away with it!"

Daisuke rolled his eyes. "Ready Veemon?"

"Ready!"

(Skip digivolution sequence)

Miyako leapt onto Aquilamon's back. 

"Aquilamon!" she yelled, "lets go help that cute good guy!"

The battle was not going well for Ken or Stingmon, who was lying groaning in the wreckage of a hut demolished by his impact. Ken, on the other hand, had his own problems. He stood in the middle of the village, crouched in a judo stance, waiting. He heard Stingmon pick himself up; he heard the fearful murmuring of the Yokomon, crowded in their huts for safety. 

Ken suddenly heard a whoosh. He dropped to one knee; the black-clad figure sailed over his head, dropped to the ground, and vanished into the shadow of one of the huts.

On the edge of the village, Stingmon was fighting Shadowmon again. 

"Moon Shooter!"

"Creeping Mist!"

He had no D-terminal, no analyser. He knew the digimon's name from when the other had given her orders. The 'other' was trying to attack him right now. Even though the atrophying of his dark spore had robbed him of his prodigious strength and speed, his judo skills were still formidable. But like her partner, the dark figure seemed able to vanish from sight at will, reappearing only when attacking. Ken had received a few cuts for his trouble, but she seemed only to want to disable him.

He knew it was a she. No boy had a figure quite like that. No boy owned a stealth suit as far as he knew either. Or any girl for that matter.

Ken rose to his stance again, watching, listening. He strained his ears for any…

"KEN-CHAN!" 

Ken recoiled, his ears throbbing from the sudden assault of Miyako's scream. He turned to see the rest of the team, his friends, running over the sand towards him. Their digimon flew, or dug in Digmon's case, away to help Stingmon. 

His ears still ringing, Ken looked around to see that Shadowmon, a humanoid figure with a long cloak and masked face, was retreating while doing her best to fend off six rather irate champion level digimon. The girl dressed like a Ninja suddenly appeared next to her, and as she stood still for a moment Ken could make out the curious headset she was wearing. He could sort of see movement, a camera?

But then the girl bowed, as one martial artist to another, and both she and her partner vanished, leaving the astonished digimon standing in the blowing dust. Ken looked around as his friends finally reached him. Or rather four of them did, Miyako seemed to have fallen while dismounting from Aquilamon. They all brightened when they reached him.

"Hey Ken, its been a while" Takeru said, not really knowing else to say. Hikari beamed at him and Iori gave a respectful bow. "Konnichiwa Ken-kun", prim and proper as always. 

"KEN!"

Daisuke pulled Ken into an out-of-character hug, which Ken accepted, not wishing to hurt his friend's feelings. Takeru looked embarrassed, Iori looked confused, and Hikari was delighted. After a second or two Daisuke let go.

"Ken! They finally let you outta the psycho ward! Man, they made you stay in there all Christmas. What a bummer, I never got to tell you about my new soccer shirt."

Ken grinned, the same old Daisuke. "Yeah, well I…"

"KENCHANKENCHANKENCHANKENCHANKENCHANKENCHAN!"

Unprepared, and off guard, Ken could do nothing to avoid the lavender blur. It raced in, wrapped itself around him, and proceeded to glomp him into submission. 

The fire blazed bright and warm. Around it sat the six Chosen, their digimon and the Yokomon of the village, all engaged in a victory feast to celebrate the saving of the village. Attention was centred on Ken, who sat cross-legged with a plate of food on the ground in front of him. Wormmon lay nearer the fire, drying off. It had taken several baths to remove the effects of his earlier crash-landing in, of all places, the latrine hut!

They had discussed Christmas presents and what they had done in the holiday season. The topic came though, to Oikawa.

"Yeah they found him, and those kids too. Right where they disappeared" Daisuke related with enthusiasm.

"And what about the Daemon corps?"

"We don't know, they just retreated." 

"Did Oikawa say where he'd been?"

"No, they couldn't remember anything! I heard their memories had been wiped."

"And where did you find that out?" inquired Takeru suspiciously.

"In the newspaper, duh" Daisuke replied, as though Takeru had asked him what colour the sky was. 

"And which newspaper was that, The Gullible Inquirer?"

"No it was the, Hey!"

"What else did you find in there? 'Aliens stole my uvular'?" 

The pair broke into a heated argument. Miyako rolled her eyes and went over to sit by Ken. Iori and Hikari settled into a polite conversation. Patamon sat staring at Takeru and Daisuke, wondering why humans had to be so argumentative. Veemon came along, dragging Takeru and Daisuke's plates with him.

"I wonder why they always argue?" Patamon said when Veemon had sat down next to him.

"I dunno, maybe hair tonic fumes make them more aggressive" Veemon speculated. They sat amicably by the fire, while the Yokomon settled down around them to enjoy the show.

"How nice of them to bring entertainment," one of the Yokomon commented to her neighbour.

****

A dream is not just a dream in the digital world.

There he was again, standing on the edge of a cliff. Before him, a black abyss. Behind him…

He turned, there they were. A tide of chariots raced across the sands towards him. He could make out the riders, his cousins, his Uncles and Aunts, his parents. All his family but one. They all grinned and laughed, cracking their whips at the ragged children who pulled the chariots at breakneck speed. 

They were some distance away, but he could still hear their words.

"You must accept your place"

"You must stop your associations…"

"You must…"  
"You must…"

The voices became a cacophony. He turned to the abyss again, saw only darkness, and turned back. 

The Chariots had stopped a hundred yards away. The riders were silent now, staring back at him. One charioteer, who looked like his father, dismounted and walked towards him, stopping just short of him, still wearing that arrogant smile. 

"You can either come with us, as your destiny demands, or you can jump. Choose now."

He looked around at the charioteers behind his father. Something wasn't right.

There were more, six more, pulled by digimon rather than children. Four boys, two girls. One short boy, two medium and one tall. One short brunette, one taller with pink hair. The leader of the column was the tall boy, dressed in a bizarre blue and silver costume, with wild purple hair and unmistakable purple shades.

He looked up at his father, clenching his teeth in anger.

"I don't care how many more there are, I won't give in to you!"

He reached down, picked up a stone, prepared to throw it. A whip cracked, his leg was pulled from under him. He fell to the ground, and the tall boy appeared close by, holding the black whip. Except now the shades were gone, he wore a simple grey suit and his purple hair hung around his face. 

"Not that way" he said coldly, those icy blue eyes staring into his. All he could hear was triumphant laughter of a thousand voices…

With a yell he a awoke, sitting straight up, sweat running down his face, soaking the sheets. 

"Magnus! Magnus!" came a voice from somewhere. He felt two warm things slide around him and his head was pushed into something fluffy. His eyes focused, all he could see was white fur. He twisted slightly, looking up into a triangular, fox-like face. 

"Magnus, it's all right, it was just a nightmare." The voice was familiar and oddly soothing. The digimon hugged him tighter, letting the terrible images fade.

"I don't have nightmares Lupumon," he said irritably, pushing the creature away. "It was a vision."

"A vision?" Lupumon asked. "With the abyss?"

"And more charioteers" Magnus said severely. "They looked like those children from Sami's video. It appears that our enemies have multiplied."

Sami, his master scout, had brought him a video recording of her mission that day. He had watched her and Shadowmon fight a Chosen, and then his allies had turned up, and then they appeared in a vision. Not a good sign.

He slid the balcony door open, seeing the sunrise, wondering what new trials came with it. There was a movement behind him, Lupumon came up and put one paw on his shoulder. Magnus turned to look at his partner; the morning light made the wide stripe of white fur down his front shine. The rest of his fur was blue, and like his female counterparts, the Renamon, he wore purple bracers on his forearms. He was also heavier set than a Renamon, with hard muscles beneath his soft fur. 

There was something oddly comforting about Lupumon's touch; it seemed to make him feel warmer, despite the cold wind coming in from the balcony. 

"You should get some more sleep. You've been tossing and turning all night. You can't get much rest with a vision rattling around inside your head" Lupumon said, as Magnus slid the door shut and walked over to the wall. He pressed a single tile on the mosaic wall, causing a small hatch to open and a deep bowl to slide out. The bowl contained a dark liquid, and next to it was a silver chalice. Magnus thrust his head into the bowl, held it there for a few seconds and then pulled it out again, the liquid dripping from his hair. He looked down into the bowl, watched the liquid turn from black to red. He filled the chalice from the bowl, raised the chalice to his lips and drank it down. He stood still for a few seconds, his mind filling with a clear image of the dream, every detail, every nuance. 

"What was it?" Lupumon asked.

"It was them, I am sure now. The Dark Water does not lie."

"At least get some more rest," Lupumon pleaded, stretching out his arms. Magnus scowled, he was in no mood to be cuddled.

Then he softened, realising that Lupumon wished only to ease his pain and worry, and the only way he knew how was through physical shows of affection. It was more than anyone else had ever done for him. 

He walked back over to the bed, surrendered to Lupumon's embrace and lay down, nestling his head in Lupumon's chest ruff. A casual observer would have thought it a cute scene. 

Magnus smiled, enjoying Lupumon's affection, lying there wrapped in soft warmth, falling quickly asleep. 

****

Ken lay on his bed, reminiscing about the day. His first day out of the 'psycho ward' had gone very well, apart from getting attacked that is. He would have liked to have told his friends that he had missed them, had dreamed about them, worried for them. But it just wasn't true. 

After Oikawa had finished with him, the experience had left him traumatised, slipping in and out of catatonia. For most of the time he'd just lain or sat there, reliving his kidnapping over and over again. All he could see was Oikawa's face, the children, the hideous images and painful memories that flashed through his mind. All the loneliness, the aggression, the self-loathing, it merged with Oikawa's visage to form a turgid morass that permeated his mind and kept it trapped. For those few precious minutes at a time when he was awake, his trauma-ridden body was frozen, leaving him unable to do anything but stare at his knees or at the ceiling, knowing all the while that he was going slowly insane. 

It had gone on for weeks, the doctors and therapists unable to get through to him. Things were looking hopeless, until one night. 

He'd been staring at the scene, during a rare lucid moment, when something green appeared over his face. It had blue eyes and pink mandibles, it seemed familiar.

"Ken, Ken it's me Wormmon."

"Worm…mon?"

"Yes Ken, don't you remember me? I'm your partner."

"What…are…you?"

"I'm a digimon, from the digital world. Oh Ken what's happened? Why are you being like this?"

"Digital…world."

_"This isn't just some big computer game! The Digital world is real! Digimon are real!"_

"You're…real."

"Yes Ken, I am real, don't you remember anything?"

"Why…are…you here?"

"Why? Because I couldn't stand the thought of you being here all alone. I love you."

"Love…me?"

_"Ken, no matter what, I'll always love you."_

"Wormmon! NOOOOOO!"

"You're…dead." Tears were streaming down his face. "I…killed you."

"No Ken, you didn't. I'm alive, I came back. Don't you remember? In the primary village?"

_"I'm sorry for everything. I'll try to be the person you and Osamu wanted me to be."_

"You…came back to me. But…I was evil."

"You're not evil anymore. You don't have to be evil because now you have friends. Lots of friends, like Daisuke. And Miyako." 

"Daisuke…Miyako…friends."

"Yes Ken, your friends, and your mother and father too. Everyone's so worried about you."

"Why…would…they…worry…about me?"

"Because we all love you, all of us!"

"All? … Love? Wormmon?"

And with that, Ken had sat straight up, grabbed Wormmon and hugged him tight, weeping like a child. 

After that night, it had been the long haul back to health. 

Ken smiled as he remembered all the 'Get well soon' cards, most of them rather mushy ones sent by Miyako. One came to mind, covered in pink hearts and with a little poem inside:

"I hope you get well soon, soon, soon

It's no fun with-out you, you, you 

Come back real soon to me, me, me

Because I love you so, so, so."

Only Miyako would have come up with something like that. Once his mind was his again, he had truly begun to miss her, even the rare glompings. He wanted to repay her in some way, even if her poetry was just a little strange. It was the thought that counted.

Then it occurred to him, just what to do. He slid off his bed, walked over to his desk and sat down. There was just one problem to get around.

"Ken?" asked Minomon. "What are you doing?"

Ken turned to face Minomon; he now had a solution.

"Minomon," he said. "Would you do me a big favour tomorrow morning?"

(Done at last. By the way, Shadowmon and Lupumon were made up by Tim and me. Please don't flame me if I got the quotations wrong. Miyako fans please do not feel insulted by the poem, it is my interpretation of something she might write and I respect your opinion if you feel this is incorrect. Please review and report any abuses so that they may be expunged!)


	3. Crush all resistance!

Disclaimer – I don't own Digimon bla bla bla.

(Here it is, sorry about the wait. Thanks also to Klyukaizer for reviewing. How do you like the new characters?)

Chapter Three

A human, dressed in a skin-tight grey suit and black armour pads, walked through the door, Kirinmon at her side. The door slid shut behind her as she walked towards the dais on which sat a command chair. A few feet from the dais, she dropped to one knee in a gesture of respect, her partner doing likewise. 

"You summoned me Excellency."

The chair turned. Tanya looked up at the face of her Lord, though only the light reflecting off his eyes was visible. The chamber around them was covered in video images. They were the only source of light in the room. 

"I have an assignment for you, one that shouldn't be too difficult." The chair turned and a hand reached from the depths to point at one of the screens. She looked up at the screen as it began to display a series of video images.

"The digimon living in San Huascar are proving somewhat intractable." The images displayed a town at the top of a mountain, full of Gazimon going about their daily business. 

"I wish you to go and remind them of their responsibilities. A mild reprisal should persuade them that obedience is far more profitable than resistance."

Tanya hesitated, wondering if her concern was worth raising. She decided it was.

"Excellency, the Chosen may interfere. They are rumoured to be capable of Jogress digivolution."

"And you fear defeat. Is that your point Miss Gentility?" 

Tanya shuddered at his words.

"I don't fear defeat Excellency, but that doesn't mean it can't happen. A successful show of defiance may cause even more rebellions."

Had she been able to see his face, she was convinced he would have looked very exasperated. Her Lord sighed.

"If that is a problem for you, Miss Gentility, then take a few Reborn if their company would make you feel more secure," he said condescendingly. "Now go," he said, with a wave of his hand.

Tanya and Kirinmon got up, saluted with clenched fist over the heart and left the chamber. Once outside the chamber, she stopped. She stared at the polished black floor, examining her reflection.

She hated it when he called her 'Miss Gentility', or 'Miss Elegance'. It raised unpleasant memories of her past. That was why he did it, and he did it when she displeased him. She knew that the others had their own terrible secrets, and he did the same thing to them as he did to her when they displeased him. 

She walked off down the corridor again, trying to fight off the rising memories. The lights cast a white glow over her curious features. She had cut her black hair in a crew cut, apart from a single long ponytail that hung to the floor, tied with black cord. It was the only thing that was feminine about her, and not even then. She wore it to be ostentatious. Her black armour was build for the male physique, but it fitted her well enough. It hid her once gorgeous curves, combining with her hair to give an intimidating asexual image. 

She had been beautiful once, highly beautiful. Not that it had been of much use to her. It had been impossible to make friends. Everyone assumed that she was a stuck-up beauty queen because of her natural good looks. Boys ogled her constantly and her only source of amusement had been playing her sycophants off against one-another. It was no life. 

Things wouldn't have been so bad if she'd had loving parents to support her. But her parents didn't care a wit for her feelings. They were addicted to the prestige, and the excuse to sneer at the plainer daughters of lesser mortals. 

She had begun to hate it. She hated being forced to be someone she wasn't, hated having to put aside her own dreams so that her parents could live out theirs through her, hated herself for being cursed with such beauty. After a while her dreams had faded to one single goal. To escape, and even that small dream was crushed. 

Then she had taken her first sojourn in the digital world. She had been free; she could be who-ever she pleased. She had met Kirinmon, someone who liked her for who she was. She had wanted to escape from her parents more than ever after that. 

She had worn a boy's armour and cut her hair short to destroy her beauty, dispel her curse. She had rejected her femininity wholesale, to seek her own identity.

She continued down the corridor towards the Reborn barracks, Kirinmon walking silently beside her. 

****

"What is it with him!" Miyako griped as she and Hikari walked down the hall. "All those cards, all that attention and he never seems to notice!"

Hikari knew what she meant. It had been a week since Ken came home, and he was still a little unresponsive. If Ken felt the same way about Miyako as she felt about him, then he wasn't doing a good job of showing it. Miyako had made many hints of her feelings, some subtler than others, but Ken seemed to have regressed into his original post-Emperor state. Self-absorbed, self-deprecating and unable to see how much it worried those who cared for him. 

She had to admit that Miyako could be very blunt at times, and she expected blunt responses. Hikari was certain that Ken knew how Miyako felt and felt the same way about her, but he seemed to be taking a very oblique approach, whereas Miyako was direct. 

"I'm sure he cares a lot for you too," She said reassuringly. "He's just not used to this sort of thing, and you've had casual relationships before."

"Well so have you!" Miyako retorted. 

"Yeah," Hikari admitted, remembering the boys she'd dated a while back, though those relationships hadn't come to anything. "All I'm saying is that…"

"EEEEEEEK!" 

Hikari was erupted by a shriek from Miyako. Hikari looked down the hall to see what Miyako was pointing at. Wedged in the door of her locker, was an envelope.

Miyako raced down the corridor and grabbed the envelope, glaring at a couple of fourth graders until they hurried away. Once she had caught up, Hikari could see 'Miyako' written on the envelope, in Ken's handwriting.

Shaking with excitement, Miyako ripped open the envelope and began to read. Then she went quite still, her expression went from excitement to something else that Hikari couldn't identify. Unable to resist, she peeked at the letter:

"To my pink-haired princess,

I wandered lost in madness deep,

Trapped in Hades' tortured sleep

I saw you not in that dread state

Though now my love do I relate

Your light was gone from out my sight

And gone my joy and my delight

To free my soul from darkest night

I beg you grant your shining light

Angel, forgive my words so bland

Touch me with thy silken hand 

Break these chains and set me free

That I forever will love thee. 

Hikari couldn't believe her eyes. What had made him write such words? Was this really how Ken felt? She could not tell.

She glanced up at Miyako. There were tears in her eyes. Some of them fell and splashed onto the letter, making the ink run.

"Oh Ken-chan," she whispered hoarsely. "You do care."

(Some time later)

Hikari strolled through the playground. It was recess and the sun was bright, she walked in the warmth of early spring. She glanced up at the Science block, some smoke still coming from the window of Laboratory 1. Miyako, spaced out as she was over Ken's love poem, had been the cause. 

Hikari had to admit that sometimes she was jealous of the fact that Miyako and Ken were practically together. She was happy for them, but she wished it wasn't just Miyako who was in love. She and Takeru were simply friends, close friends, but friends nevertheless. What they had was special and neither wanted to take it any further. 

But Hikari was not content. Something inside her was stirring. Her friendships meant a lot to her, but she wanted something more. What she wanted, was someone special. Someone, just like Ken. Someone who'd hold her hand without embarrassment, someone who'd kiss her on the cheek and tell her he loved her, someone who'd treat her gently. 

She told herself that she meet someone special someday. But until that day, she would have to live with a deep empty hole in her heart.

She happened to glance sideways, and saw someone sitting on a bench in the gap between the Science block and the gym hall.

It was Chimofu, the new kid, with shaven black hair and brown eyes. He sat there, his brow furrowed as though deep in thought. As always, he looked incredibly lonely. 

He always seemed lonely to her, though her bore himself with a quiet self-assurance. He preferred his own company, and could usually be found sitting around as he was right now. She didn't think it quite right, that he should be alone all the time.

__

"Besides" she thought _"He wouldn't mind having someone to talk to."_

"Why are you hovering there, Yagami?" Chimofu said, without looking up. 

"May I sit?" she asked as she walked up, ignoring his brusque statement.

"Why not," he replied, turning to look at her. "There's plenty of room."

She sat down at the other end of the bench, her hands on her knees. She turned her head to face him, smiling pleasantly. He gave his usual emotionless look in return. 

"So, how are you settling in?" she asked, not knowing what else to say.

"I am moderately comfortable" he replied. "Have you some concern?"

"Well actually I have," she said quickly. "You always seem to be on your own."

"I have my reasons."

"I just thought you might like someone to talk to. It's no fun being alone."

"Indeed it isn't, but I have grown used to it."

"Well there's no need to. I'm sure you'll make a lot of friends." 

He gave her an appraising look. 

"I find that like all good things, friendships have a habit of coming to an end very easily," he said, with just a touch of bitterness. At that, Hikari's expression turned from a smile to a frown.

"Why would you say that?" 

"Because it happens. And don't give me that 'better to have loved and lost' cliché. It's better never to have had a friend than to lose one, even if it's for their own good."

Hikari was taken aback. She had only a few close friends but she cared deeply for all of them, yes even Daisuke. She could not understand why someone could be so flippant about friendship. 

At that the bell rang. Chimofu stood up. 

"Thank you for wasting your recess on my account, Yagami Hikari, we may meet again later."

And with that, he walked off along the gap, turning off at the other end and out of sight.

"Well thank you for being a jerk!" she said angrily, though there was no one there to hear. "Welcome to Odaiba, Chimofu, you're going to be very lonely."

****

The air was filled with smoke and the screams of the dying. The Gazimon and various other digimon ran for cover as the four dark shapes made another pass. They shot through the sky over San Huascar, spitting coloured bolts of death. 

"Carnage Claw!"

Another building destroyed. More digimon running about in the open. 

Tanya circled the town one last time. That was enough for now. 

"Darkbaphomon, land in the main square."

"Right!" Her partner put down in the main square; the three Reborn landed behind her and snapped to attention as she got down. Tanya gave Darkbaphomon a quick pat on the arm as she moved in front of him. The digimon of the town cowered in the remaining buildings and around corners. 

"Where is your leader!" she called at the beaten rebels. 

One Gazimon appeared in a doorway and walked forward. He wore a gold chain about his neck and Tanya supposed he was the leader. She looked down at the creature, in more ways than one. She found Gazimon to be vile, cowardly little creatures that looked like chain-smoking rabbits. A number of them worked for the Master as suppression troops, an application for which they were well adapted, being bullies by nature. 

The Gazimon leader stood tall, staring her straight in the eyes. 

"Well, are you satisfied Black Hand? Have you wrecked our town enough for one day?"

Tanya looked disdainfully at the Gazimon, not noticing a larger blue and yellow digimon sliding down the mountain. 

****

As Hikari entered the computer lab, she saw that the other Chosen were clustered next to the computer where the digiport usually was. When she came to see what was happening, she gasped. 

Takeru was kneeling, holding a bedraggled-looking Gabumon. His fur was scorched in places and his bare skin bruised in many more. 

"Yamato," Gabumon whispered weakly.

"Oh! Gabumon!" she knelt beside him and took one paw. "Are you all right?"

Gabumon opened his eyes and turned his head to Hikari.

"Where's Yamato? We have to go…go to the digital world."

The sound of running footsteps came from the hallway. A few seconds later Yamato appeared at the door, breathless and worried-looking.

"Gabumon!" he shouted, upon seeing his battered friend.

"Yamato!" Gabumon called in reply, pulling himself from Takeru and running to his partner. The two embraced. Even under these circumstances, it was heart-warming to see.

"What happened?" Yamato asked. "I heard you calling to me, it felt like you were in pain." He looked Gabumon up and down. "And I guess you were." 

"Yamato," Gabumon said, his tone more serious now that the joyous reunion was over. "We have to go to the digital world. I can't succeed without your help."

"Succeed at what?" Yamato asked. "I thought you were guarding that mountain zone. What happened?"

"There isn't time. I'll explain everything when we get there, but we have to go!" 

"We can't go yet," Iori said, "Miyako isn't here."

"How come she's always the last one to get here?" Daisuke said irritably. "If the digital world is in danger then I have to be there!"

"Would you rather she didn't bring any snacks?" Takeru piped in, bursting Daisuke's bubble.

"No way!" Daisuke replied quickly. "They're the only thing that stops Chibimon from eating my bed!"

"I just get so hungry," Chibimon whined. 

There was a peculiar noise coming from the hallway. As one the digidestined and digimon turned to see Miyako appear in the doorway, smiling the smile of one whose brain is lost in the fluffy depths of cloud nine. Fortunately she had remembered to bring the snacks. 

"Miyako! What took you so long?" Takeru was staring at Miyako. He had never seen her space out this badly.

"Oh, no reason" Miyako said dreamily, dropping the snacks onto the floor for the digimon.

"WHY ARE YOU BEING SO SILLY?" Yamato yelled, sickened by Miyako's good spirits in the face of Gabumon's pain. 

"Because my Ken-chan loves me so!" Miyako cooed, doing an inexpert pirouette and crashing into the door. That seemed to wake her up.

"What?" she said confusedly, "What's wrong with Gabumon?"

"She's been singing Rogers and Hammerstein songs ever since she got Ken's note," a haggard Poromon moaned between nachos. "She's given me a splitting headache."

"That must be awful," Gatomon commented. 

"You've no idea!" Poromon retorted. "I'm just a head with wings. Practically my whole body hurts!" 

"Can we go already!" Daisuke yelled impatiently, "the digital world isn't getting any safer. Not without Daisuke and Chibimon to save the day!" 

Hikari rolled her eyes as digidestined and digimon stepped up to the computer. 

"DIGIPORT OPEN!" 

(Finished at last! Sorry for making you wait so long. Is this fanfic any good? Please review and report any abuses or mistakes. Just to clarify, speech written in Italics indicates thought, just in case you weren't sure.) 


	4. Riding into battle

Disclaimer – I don't own digimon, Sailor Moon etc. 

(Well here it is! Thank you to Heath 999 for reviewing so faithfully. Your questions will be answered in time.)

Chapter 4

They appeared on a forested mountaintop. Gabumon, bandaged and feeling better after a rice ball, led the way with Yamato at his side. The trees rose up around them, blocking out the sunlight. 

They quickly reached the edge of the forest and followed Gabumon into the bushes. They poked their heads out slightly, following Gabumon's paw as he pointed at the city on the opposite mountain. 

"There it is, San Huascar. It was my base, until today that is."

"Cool!" Daisuke remarked. "It looks like one of those Maya cities."

"Don't you mean Inca cities?" Takeru said derisively.

"I knew that," Daisuke replied, resentful at being made a fool of by his rival. 

"So what's in there?" Miyako asked, ignoring the 'male bonding' session going on in the next bush. "Digimon with dark rings? Control spire clones?"

"No, nothing like those," Gabumon said, turning to her. "Only one of them seemed like a real digimon. The others were…well…I just don't know."

Meanwhile, Daisuke had finished with Takeru and was looking at the town through a small one-handed telescope, another item passed down to him from Taichi.

"I see one big horned thing," he said, pointing the telescope at the large digimon in a black cloak swaggering around the main square. Then three armoured figures marched into the square. They were like nothing Daisuke had ever seen, except in a comic book.

"Who are those guys?" 

"The Black Hands call them 'Reborn'. They're really dangerous." Gabumon tailed off and began to nurse his bandaged arm. "One of them did this to me without even trying."

There was silence as this information sunk in.

"They have to be at least champion level," Takeru pointed out. "Three of them and that other one conquering a town full of Rookies on their own. They must be pretty powerful."

"Uh, guys?" Daisuke had his D-terminal open and was looking at the screen. He seemed very worried. "The Digi-analyser can't recognise them..."

There was a gasp from the other Chosen.

"…but the big guy's Darkbaphomon, ultimate level, an his Carnage Claw and Blood Wind attacks leave nothing standing."

"But who's that down there beside him?" Miyako pointed at the shorter figure that walked from one of the buildings, dragging something behind it. 

"It looks…like a human," Iori breathed. "How could it be…"

"Well whatever it his it's got a prisoner," Miyako interrupted. "Right, we sneak down the mountain and…"

"CATHERINE!" Daisuke and Takeru yelled, their voices echoing between the mountains.

****

Tanya looked at the 'object'before her, now being restrained by Darkbaphomon. She was everything that Tanya had once been, and everything she had rejected. It gave her more than a little pleasure to see her beaten and humiliated. 

She had been snooping around the surrounding hills less than an hour after the reprisal inflicted on San Huascar. Tanya had set the Reborn on her. It gave them something to do until they were recalled. 

Just as she was about to speak, she heard a word screamed from the mountain opposite the town. It echoed between the buildings.

"Reborn, get ready! Someone's watching us."

She turned to her prisoner, smiling slightly as the Reborn moved into a defensive formation, flying up on top of the taller buildings to get a good view. She couldn't help but notice her prisoner looking frantically towards the mountain, as though she knew the voice that had screamed her name. 

"So your name's Catherine eh?" Tanya, leaned forward, her smile growing into a slightly sinister 'Cheshire cat' grin she'd been working on.

"Oui," Catherine replied, her tone angry and resentful. "But eet won't do you any good. Zey will get you, non?" She gave a defiant smile. Tanya's arrogant façade slipped a little, but she recovered quickly. 

"When they get here," she said, slowly and deliberately. "I am going to beat them into the ground before your very eyes. But don't worry…" she changed her tone from cool arrogance to something soothing and maternal, "you and your friends will soon see things differently."

Catherine snarled and spat. "You witch! You won't win. You'll be defeated zome day and I'll be zere to zee ze look on your ugly face!" 

Tanya stood straight, dropping her smile in favour of an emotionless mask. 

"Such impressive defiance." Tanya brought her hand around and slapped her with the back of her armoured glove. Catherine whimpered, her face reddening where it had been struck. 

"YOU LEAVE HER ALONE!" came a righteously angry voice. Tanya looked up to see four digimon approaching quickly, five humans spread between them. The large red bird seemed to be doing an unfair share of the work. The digimon landed on the opposite side of the square and the riders dismounted. The paving cracked near them and another digimon emerged from underground. 

She immediately recognised them as the Chosen from Sami's video. But weren't there supposed to be six of them?

"Your gonna pay for that!" yelled the one with the wild hair. 

"Oh really," she replied sarcastically. "I'm quaking in my boots."

"Daisuke!" Catherine suddenly called out. "Mon chere!"

Takeru stared at the person standing before them. He wasn't usually made ill at ease just by looking at someone, but he couldn't figure out whether the figure was a boy or a girl, and it was worrying him.

The armour was made for a boy, with stylised muscles and a tapering codpiece hanging from the belt, but the figure and the shape of the face didn't seem quite right. The hair was extremely short, but there was a floor length ponytail. Since the ponytail wasn't plaited or tied with ribbon, he decided that his opponent was a boy with an unfortunate pair of hips. 

But no time to worry about that now, there was a Paladin's work to be done. 

"Ok kid, surrender now, and neither you nor your partner will get hurt. We're not here to hurt anyone."

His opponent scoffed at that. "Surrender? Without a fight? I think not. DARKBAPHOMON, GET THEM! REBORN, ATTACK!"

Darkbaphomon dropped Catherine and leapt at Exveemon.

"Blood Wind!"

Exveemon was knocked backwards as the red wind hit him. The Reborn activated their jet boots and leapt into the air. 

The Reborn were unlike anything the digidestined of Japan had ever faced. They were humanoids covered in black armour and full helmets with glowing red visors. They carried long metal quarterstaves. 

They held their staves with both hands, pointed them, and blasts of energy shot from the ends of the staves. Angemon, Angewomon and Aquilamon were knocked backwards by the blasts. Ankylamon tried to help Exveemon, but no number of Champion level digimon could defeat an Ultimate level digimon. Both were sent flying. 

"We're getting creamed!" Daisuke yelled as Exveemon flew past, flattening a small building as he went. 

"They're too powerful. We have to Jogress Digivolve!" Miyako winced as a Reborn smashed Aquilamon over the head with its staff. 

"Where's Ken? We need him!" Iori gasped as Ankylomon was flipped over and poked viciously in the stomach. 

Exveemon lay on his back, trying to get away as Darkbaphomon stepped up, raising his clawed right hand.

"And now, the Coup de Grace. Carnage…!"

"Spiking Strike!"

A green and black blur flew straight into Darkbaphomon, driving a glowing purple needle into his chest and knocking him sideways. Stingmon dropped to the ground by Exveemon.

"Are you all right Exveemon?"

"Sorry I'm late!" a voice called from one side. They all turned.

There, standing on a rooftop like some alternate Tuxedo Mask, proud, mighty and heroic, was Ken. 

"What kept you!" Daisuke called to his friend, ruining the moment.

"KEN-CHAN!" Miyako screamed, clasping her hands and jumping on the spot, her mind locked in fan girl mode. 

"Ken!" Daisuke ran towards Ken. "We have to Jogress Digivolve now!"

Ken nodded gravely, pulling out his digivice. 

Tanya could only stand and watch as the six digimon leapt into the air, orbited each other in pairs and merged together into three new digimon.

"Paildramon!"

"Silphymon!"

"Shakkoumon!"

Darkbaphomon got up, his left hand covering the hole in his chest left by Stingmon's attack. Tanya looked on, proud of her partner's inner strength.

"Reborn! Form up, take them one at a time." The Reborn obeyed efficiently, but deep down Tanya knew that the battle was hopeless. The Reborn were slightly more powerful than a Champion level digimon, but three of them and one Ultimate were no match for three Ultimate level digimon.

Paildramon and Silphymon were dealing with the Reborn while Shakkoumon fought Darkbaphomon.

"Desperado Blaster!"

"Static Force!"

"Harmonious Spirit!"

It was all Darkbaphomon could do to avoid being hit. The Reborn had taken several hits and couldn't take many more. Finally Paildramon slashed one of the Reborn over the chest, leaving three glowing rents in the armour. 

The visor's glow faded. The Reborn went limp and spiralled out of the sky. It crashed onto the pavement, leaving a large crater. 

It lay there for a moment, then turned into white light. It deformed, split, and the two shapes metamorphosed into more familiar shapes. The white shapes became a young boy and a small digimon, lying unconscious. The boy's shirt was torn in three long slashes. 

Daisuke stared, trying to understand what had just happened. 

The two remaining Reborn joined Darkbaphomon, now rather worse for wear, as Tanya raised her digivice. A black disc appeared directly before her and grew until it was wide enough to accommodate Darkbaphomon. She turned towards the baffled Chosen. 

"An interesting battle, you're lucky I have to finish it now. We will meet again."

"Hey! Get back here!" Daisuke yelled as the mysterious Chsoen and company walked through the portal, which then vanished. 

Daisuke stared at the point where the portal had been, then turned to see everyone crowded around the fallen boy. He walked over and saw Catherine cradling the boy; Hikari was trying to revive the small digimon.

"Manuel! Manuel! Are you all right? Are you urt?"

Manuel moaned, and his eyes fluttered open. 

"Catherine? Ees zat you?" His voice was weak, croaking, like he'd just got out of bed. Catherine pulled him closer, cooing with relief. 

"Oh Manuel! I waz zo worried about you. I thought I would never zee you again!" Hikari smiled at the rather sweet scene. Daisuke scowled, and stalked off. 

Catherine and Manuel stood up, and then Catherine went over and hugged Takeru.

"Takeru, eet eez zo good to zee you again. 

"Are you okay Catherine?" Takeru said gently.

"Eet eez only a little bump. Eet will 'eal. Not like what I will give to zat witch when I catch up wiz er!", her tone turning suddenly vengeful. 

"Witch?" Takeru was confused. "Why are you calling him a witch?"

"Eem?" Catherine seemed even more confused. "She is a girl, non?"

"I thought she was a boy!" Takeru exclaimed.

"You would think zo, she dresses like a boy, non? But I saw 'er wizout 'er 'anging plate before ze battle. She 'ad no…you know what."

She brightened. "But enough of zat. Why, you have not introduced me to your 'eroic friends." Takeru went red with embarrassment. "Oh, yeah, Catherine, Manuel, this is Iori…" He pointed to Iori, who bowed deeply. She giggled behind her hand at his show of deference. 

"and this is Hikari, Miyako, and Ken. Guys, this is Catherine and Manuel," gesturing to each in turn. They all embraced. 

"But where eez Daisuke?" Catherine said, her tone betraying her concern. "Where did he go?"

Takeru went red again. "Er, I think he got the wrong idea, or are you two, er…" he trailed off. Catherine looked puzzled. Hikari came forward and whispered something into Catherine's ear. She began to laugh rather prettily.

"Oh, mon dieu what a silly thing! No no ee as indeed gotten ze wrong idea. Manuel eez my bruzzer."

Takeru's face returned to normal, and they all laughed at the simple misunderstanding. 

"Oh, I had better go a zee 'im," Catherine turned to Manuel and placed her hands on his shoulders 

"Manuel, are you all right?"

"Yes seester I am all right. You don't need to muzzer me like zees."

"But I promeesed Mama and Papa zat I would take good care of you. If zey find out zat you were in zee clutches of zose awful Black Hands, I will never 'ear zee end of eet."

As brother and sister argued and admonished, Miyako sneaked up next to Ken and grabbed his arm. 

"Uh, Ken…"

"Yeah."

"Can we talk? In private?"

"Yeah sure." Ken was smiling now. "We could go back to my place if you want."

Miyako brightened. "I'd love to!" 

(Finally, it's done. Sorry it took so long. I hope that Catherine's speech doesn't cause too much confusion. It's my first real attempt at writing in a French accent. Do you readers prefer the story with digivolution sequences or without? Please review and tell me!") 


	5. Ken and Miyako

Disclaimer- I don't own digimon or anything else I might happen to use.

(Sorry to keep you waiting. Thanks to Heath 999 for your assistance. Yes Tanya is a bit mean.)

Chapter 5

A short while later, Catherine returned, walking arm-in-arm with a much happier Daisuke. He was grinning from ear to ear as he told Catherine a silly anecdote that made her laugh. Takeru looked extremely resentful.

Everyone else was helping the Gazimon, some of whom were injured. Yamato and Gabumon, who had been waiting it out on the opposite mountain, had turned up to help.

"At least they didn't wreck the place like Ken used to," Takeru remarked, causing Ken to look away and getting an angry look from Miyako. 

"What did they want anyway?" Iori turned to Gabumon. "Who are they?" Gabumon seemed both worried and afraid.

"They call themselves the Black Hands. They're running some kind of extortion racket over the entire Digital world. They make the digimon give them stuff and in return they don't wreck their homes and kill them."

"Why would they do such a thing?" Hikari looked horrified.

"No one really knows" Gabumon replied. "They want all kinds of things. Metals, food, energy. But nobody has any idea of what they want them for?"

"Maybe they're building something," Daisuke was intrigued. "Like a giant robot!"

"Maybe they're building you a new brain" Takeru replied derisively. Daisuke shot him an angry look and pulled down his left lower eyelid, much to Catherine's amusement. 

Miyako glanced sideways to see Iori sitting on the steps leading up to the first floor of one of the houses lining the square. Concerned, Miyako went over and sat by him. He was staring at the pavement, his lips pursed, his brow furrowed. Miyako had not seen him like that in a long time. 

Aside from Ken, who she hoped would be something more, Iori was her closest human friend. She hated it when he was like this. It reminded her of how innocent he had once been and how little he truly understood good and evil. How little any of them understood good and evil.

"Want to talk about it?" she put her hand on his shoulder.

"I though Chosen were pure," he said through gritted teeth. 

She nodded, understanding his dilemma. Chosen were supposed to represent the best qualities of humanity. Courage, Friendship, Love, Purity, Knowledge, Reliability, Hope and Light, plus any others they hadn't come across. She wondered if there were evil Chosen, representing the darker side of human sensibility. It didn't seem right at all, but if the digital world was meant to be a balance between good and evil, it made some sense. 

"Chosen are pure," she said soothingly, deciding not to reveal what she was thinking. "It's just that sometimes people do bad things without knowing that they're bad."

"I know that, its just that here I…I, I can't tell." 

Iori's look of moral outrage turned to a look of confusion. 

"I can't tell if that guy was really evil, or just confused, you know, like Ken was."

Miyako quickly realised that she couldn't tell either. That was the worrying thing. It was okay to destroy evil digimon, she supposed, because they were evil. But was it okay to treat someone as though they were evil just because they were behaving like an evil person would?

Miyako wasn't sure. Whoever that kid was, he or she hadn't come here to cause harm. He or she could have torched the whole town by the time they'd arrived. 

She was also growing tired of having to mentally use 'he or she'. It surprised her how difficult it was to describe or seriously consider a person of such indeterminate gender. Yet she'd heard Catherine make out that the kid possessed no masculine appendage, or that her crotch was the wrong shape.

Miyako began to consider that too. If she was a girl, why did she dress like a boy? Okay, Miyako wore a rather eccentric pair of pants, but she never cut her hair short, or denied that she was a girl. 

Apart from that awful time when she was seven.

__

"Why am I thinking about this so much? Maybe that's why she does it. To intimidate people."

She patted Iori's shoulder and went over to join the others, who were preparing to leave. A few minutes later Iori followed. Most of them went back to the digiport on the opposite mountain, but Ken and Miyako, with their partners in tow, went off in a different direction.

********

Centurion read the report and said a very rude word. 

_"Stupid girl! Losing one of the Reborn like that! If those brats find out anything important…!"_

He calmed. No sense in getting steamed up over some girl's mistake. He waved his arm and the terrified Gazimon courier beat a hasty and thankful retreat. 

But he couldn't help it. He wasn't just frustrated. He was extremely disappointed. He disliked girls and had no patience with them. Tanya was the only exception, because she had rejected her femininity as passionately as he hated it. He seemed to have found a kindred spirit.

But then she had gone and fluffed the San Huascar affair. Perhaps his confidence in her had been misplaced. 

"Wazza deal?" drawled a voice from behind him. Centurion turned to see his partner, Impmon (Sorry, I couldn't resist!), leaning on the wall and chewing something. He suddenly felt a lot better for having someone he could relate to around. 

"Tanya messed up at San Huascar, lost one Reborn." 

"Ah don't worry about it Cent'. Let her fix her own stupid mess. Stupid girl!" 

Centurion grinned at sentiment. Yes, Impmon had even less regard for the so-called 'fairer sex' than he did. 

Impmon blew a bubble and Centurion turned back to the mass of machinery spread over the walls of the huge room, dwarfing his small observation platform. All the machines were linked to a group of large vertical tubes, standing side by side on the wall directly in front of the observation platform. 

There was a small chamber above each tube, two of which were filled with dark liquid. Each contained a single child, floating fully clothed, lost in some waking nightmare, unable to prevent what was happening to them. 

The liquid was slowly turning red. When this had finished, the two boys were dropped out of the tanks into the tubes. The red liquid drained out, leaving the tanks empty and dry. The machinery hummed, red lights flicked on and off down the tubes, marking the progress of the two children. Eventually the sequence of lights reached floor level. The red lights activated around hatches in the tubes at floor level, which then opened. 

Two Reborn stepped smartly from the tubes. Centurion smiled as they turned on their heels and marched out through the door. 

Who needed legions of enslaved digimon? The Black Hands possessed some far better things. Their own partners for one and thirty Reborn for another. Nobody could stand against the Master.

Except the Chosen of course.

Centurion reached to his belt and pulled out his digivice. He looked at it, sitting inert in his gloved hand. It's very existence proved that he was, or at least had been, a Chosen himself. He had never been a member of a team, never had such close friends. 

He shook those thoughts from his head, pressed a switch, and the platform disconnected from the upper walkway and floated over to a small tap, connected by a series of small pipes to the tanks above. 

He held out the flask he was carrying, turned the tap, and smiled as the red liquid gushed into the flask. A special blend for the Master.

He turned off the tap once the flow stopped. He pressed the switch again and the platform floated back towards the walkway. 

He felt a surge of renewed pride as he looked at the red liquid. He alone was trusted with bringing the Dark Water to the master. And he alone, out of all the other Black Hands, had been permitted to taste it. 

He remembered the surge of awareness and strength the Dark Water brought. His mind had filled with new knowledge, a lifetime's worth of experience and learning ingested in the blink of an eye. It was then that he realised the true nature of the Master.

He had realised another side to the Master some time later. He had botched a mission and the Master, though Centurion did not know it at the time, was furious. 

He had entered the Command chamber and the Master, all smiles, had bidden him take a drink. He did so and then realised that he had drunk Dark Water that had not been distilled to remove emotion and personality. As some girl's insipid thoughts and emotions had crashed into his psyche, the Master had calmly stood there and told him that he would not fail again. He had had to spend the next two days sealed in his quarters until the effects had worn off. 

He had never failed the Master since, nor did he resent the punishment. The Master expected success from his foremost follower, and failure deserved punishment. 

Centurion turned to leave, his cape billowing…

…and walked directly into Impmon's beach ball sized bubble. 

********

"So what did you want to talk about Miyako?"

Miyako and Ken were sitting on Ken's bed, their partners having gone off to explore the roof. She looked up at last, gazing into his blue eyes. 

"I wanted to ask you, about, the Psycho ward." Ken's smile faltered.

"What do you want to know about there?"

"I want to know what happened. What did they do to you?" Her eyes were full of worry. She wanted to know why Ken had backslid emotionally since the kidnapping. Though deep in her heart, she felt that she already knew.

"They, tried to help me," Ken said after a pause. "They did their best, but nothing must have worked. I found out later that they'd been pretty desperate."

"But if they didn't cure you," Miyako was suddenly confused, "then who did?"

"It was Wormmon. My parents brought him when they visited me. He spoke to me in the night."

There was a mournful look in Ken's eyes; those memories were still painful. 

"He made the bad things go away, by reminding me of the good things."

"The good things?"

"Yeah, all the people who care about me. Him, my parents, Daisuke, you." Miyako's eyes widened. 

"Ken, what are you saying?"

"That it was you that brought me back as much as anyone else. This time, and before. I'm sorry Miyako."

"Sorry for what?"

"I'm sorry for ignoring you, for not writing back, for not…saying anything. You gave me all that attention and worry. I've been such a jerk…"

"No!" Miyako interrupted. "You're not a jerk. You've got the Crest of Kindness for crying out loud."

"I just wanted to apologise…"

"Well stop apologising! You don't need to apologise for something that wasn't your fault!" 

Ken looked at the floor. Miyako began to feel guilty for hurting his feelings, but knew it needed to be done to make him stop wallowing in self-pity. 

Unable to stop herself, she reached over and touched his face. Ken looked up, wondering what it meant.

"Ken?" her voice was quavering. "You know that poem. Did you…did you mean all those things?" She looked straight into his eyes, his soulful blue eyes. He straightened up and moved a little closer. His smile was reassuring.

"Every word."

She sat there, looking straight at him, as though she had not heard. Then she shifted on the bed to face Ken and clasped his hands in hers. 

"Ken, I want you to promise me something. I want you to promise that you'll never change. That you'll never stop being who you are, no matter how much you grow or how hard life gets." Her eyes were filling with tears. Her voice began to quaver again.

"Promise me! Promise me that you'll always be kind and gentle no matter what! Promise me that you'll always be the boy that I love!" The tears were running down her face. Ken was struck dumb, overwhelmed. His heart cried out in sympathy. He wanted to comfort her, to reassure her that he would never let go of the Inner Light, the shining light that soothed his troubled heart. The torch that burned like the sun whenever she was near.

He slid closer to her and put his hand on her face, wiping away her tears with his thumb.

"I promise."

The tears stopped, the pain in her face turned to joy. Miyako moved even closer, entranced by Ken's face, with it's full lips and blue eyes, framed with deep blue hair. Ken found himself reaching towards her in turn. 

Their lips touched. 

It was as though time had stopped, as though they floated together in warmth. The moment seemed to stretch, Ken thought it would last forever. Her lips were soft, planted on his as their tongues danced. 

Ken put his arms around her and pulled her close. She slid her arms under his and clung to him, as though by being so close they could never be parted. 

Finally they separated, gasping for breath, still entwined in each other's arms. 

"Well," Miyako was breathless. "That was interesting."

"Yeah, we should do it again sometime," Ken replied, equally breathless.

"But not just yet." Miyako laid her head on his shoulder, her eyes closed. Ken smiled contentedly. 

And deep in their hearts, the light shined brighter.

Outside in the hallway, Mr Ichijouji came to a silent halt outside Ken's bedroom. He bent, listened at the keyhole, and stood up.

No, it couldn't be…

He went away; to the room he shared with his wife, and came back with a small portable mirror. He raised it to the top corner of the door, where there was a slight gap since he had busted it open a few months previously. He angled the mirror…

…and grinned.

_"Yeah, just like his old man."_

He could see Ken's back, and a pink-haired head resting on his right shoulder. It was fairly obvious what was going on.

He fondly remembered his youth, when he had sneaked girls into his bedroom. One of them had later become his wife. He had always known that Ken would take after him in some way, and what a way indeed. 

And thinking of his wife…

__

"I'd better not tell her. She'll just barge right in, poor kid. No, it's my duty to respect his privacy." 

"What are you looking at?"

Mr Ichijouji froze as his wife materialised behind him.

"Oh, er, nothing dear. Just checking the door. Yeah, just checking it."

"With a mirror?" Before he could react, she rushed forward to look in the mirror. She gasped. There was an embarrassingly long pause, normally only seen when someone has forgotten their lines. 

"Oh goodness!" she said quickly. "I've forgotten to change Ken's sheets!"

She reached for the door handle, only to be blocked by her husband. He had a determined look on his face.

"No dear, we are not going to disturb Ken."

"But!"

"No buts!" She seemed to calm down after that. She walked away silently towards the kitchen. Mr Ichijouji began to walk away also, but he had a sneaking suspicion. 

The sudden squeak and the sound of fast footsteps confirmed it. He had to run to cut off his wife from Ken's door. They collided and rolled along the wall.

"We haven't done this in a while!" she remarked.

"Not since our wedding night!" he replied. They rolled along the wall until they rolled into the lounge and collapsed on the sofa. After a few minutes puffing and blowing, she began to get up again. He grabbed her hand to stop her.

"Honey…"

"I have to go! Please let me…"

"No you don't. This is something Ken has to do on his own. The last thing he needs is either of us staring at him when he's trying to have an intimate moment."

"I know that, and I know that Ken is very mature for his age. But I just don't think he's ready for this sort of thing." 

"Were we ready?"

"Well…" she faltered, remembering those heady days. She also remembered how embarrassed she'd been when her mother had walked in on herself and some boy she happened to be kissing. That was before she'd met her husband. 

"That's different!" she recovered. "We were sixteen. Ken's far too young for this. There's no way he could possibly understand the…you know!"

"But does that give us the right to interfere? They were only cuddling!"

"That's not what I saw! I saw the way they were looking at one another! They're…"

She broke off, unable to say it. Her husband slid closer to her and took her hand.

"I know that it's hard, but we both knew that this was going to happen some day. We have to let him work this out for himself." His wife sighed, but seemed content with that. 

"Well, I suppose you're right this time."

"Let's not let him know that we know just yet. There's nothing worse than your parents knowing about these things too early on."

"But whoever would have thought it. My little Ken…has a sweetheart."

"Yeah, they grow up so fast these days."

(Done, phew! Really odd sequence at the end here. Doe anyone know the names of Ken's parents? Please review and tell me!)


	6. A shocking revelation

Disclaimer – I don't own digimon etc

(Arigatou to everyone for your reviews! More will be revealed in time.)

Chapter 6

Things had been getting more interesting over the last few weeks, Hikari had to admit. Not only did the digidestined have a new set of enemies to deal with, but the lives of the digidestined themselves were getting more complex. Miyako and Ken were now an item and had been dating ever since their meeting in his room. 

So far the issue had been kept relatively quiet. It seemed as though the loss of his incredible mental and physical prowess had also lost Ken his celebrity status. He was able to walk the streets troubled by neither mob nor camera. From what she knew of Ken, Hikari guessed that he didn't miss it much. 

She couldn't help but notice that Daisuke and Catherine had become increasingly friendly. Takeru had every girl in the school going red in the face as he went by, but Iori was too young for all that.

_"But what about me?" _she thought, rather irritably, staring down into her spud balls. 

Without really knowing why, she turned her head and looked straight at Chimofu, who was sitting a couple of tables down from her. As usual he was dressed all in black. Fortunately it was not the black worn by morbid people, it was a stylish sort of black, but it was black nevertheless. 

She didn't think it suited him at all, not that it was any of her business, but wearing black all the time just didn't seem right. 

She watched him closely, watched the way he ate.

It was amazing. She knew of no one else so talented at making the simplest action seem like a mechanical process. Lift, chew, swallow, lift, chew, swallow. 

Chimofu seemed deep in thought, his usual state of being. He always seemed to be in a foul mood.

_"Why doesn't he smile?"_

Hikari privately thought that people who didn't smile were either pretending or had something wrong with them emotionally. Most likely pretending. 

She brightened. Of course he was pretending! No one could be like that all the time. 

"Hey 'Kari" came a voice, using her nickname. She looked up and saw Takeru standing there smiling, also carrying a tray.

"Hey TK" she replied in kind. "Care to join me?"

Takeru grinned and sat down next to her.

"How's the Chimofu watching session going?" Hikari froze, then did her best to sound normal.

"I…don't know what you mean" she lied. "I wasn't watching him. Why would I want to spend my lunch time watching him?" She laughed a self-conscious little laugh. Takeru just grinned at her. 

"I wouldn't be much a friend if I didn't know you well enough to know when you're lying. I think you've got a crush on him."

Hikari went scarlet. She couldn't believe what he was saying. But was he all that wrong?

"I, I, I don't have a crush on him!"

"I can tell that you feel something for him, you seem fascinated with him."

"Well I might," Hikari admitted, "if he'd just be a little more animated. He has the personality of a stump most of the time."

"Well, what is he like?"

"Occasionally he's really rude and cynical, the rest of the time he's civil, and even more occasionally he's even funny." Hikari felt like she sounded. She just couldn't make up her mind about him. She didn't know enough about him, he was so reserved and mysterious, opening up to no one. 

"I wish I knew him better. I feel like he's hiding something, maybe the reason why he's always on his own."

"You sound really worried," Takeru seemed genuinely concerned.

"I am worried. He doesn't seem to have made any friends since he got here."

Takeru considered Chimofu carefully. Shaven-headed, clad entirely in black, his face screwed up in a kind of neutral frown, as though he was less than happy with just about everything. 

Being the Keeper of Hope, he had a curious ability to sense auras. He and Hikari, being the principal digidestined and bearers of the highest virtues, possessed this ability, though he sometimes wasn't sure. Was it really a special power, or were they simply good judges of character? 

He couldn't sense anything from Chimofu.

"Give him time, now that he's in the basketball team he might get somewhere."

"He joined the basketball team?" Hikari was surprised; she did not think him the sporting type.

"Yeah, he's an average player but a great strategist, I think Coach might make him Captain." 

Hikari brightened. She liked to watch the boys play basketball, mostly to see Takeru humiliate Daisuke, but she was interested indeed to see how Chimofu would perform. 

"Well maybe this afternoon we'll both find out," she said, happier now.

******

Sami wondered what the Master had in store for her. She had received the order to attend him in his command chamber from Conrad. One look into her brother's green eyes had told her that something was badly up.

She walked through the door and into the chamber itself. The walls were lined with images of the digital world. The Master was standing on the dais, looking up at a set of images. She stopped before the steps and knelt. 

"Excellency, I await your command."

"Sami, come up here and see what I have found."

Sami walked up to stand next to the Master. He made a grandiose gesture at the images laid out above them. "These digimon each have something I require. Something I will need to complete this phase of the campaign."

"I will require something of theirs to create the Armour of Night and the Black Sword. Your mission is to bring me Metalseadramon's armour, Devimon's wings and MagnaAngemon's sword. Use your digivice to copy and store the data."

Sami was overwhelmed. The Master wished for her to subdue one Mega, two Ultimate and one Champion level digimon long enough to copy their data.

But when the Master commanded, she obeyed. 

"I will do my best, Excellency."

"Yes, you will, this phase cannot be completed if you fail. Now go."

Sami saluted, turned and left the chamber. She decided to go and see Conrad, maybe her brother would have finished checking her partner over. 

The Master sat down in the command chair, tapped a few keys and the images disappeared, replaced by two more images. An unholy smile spread across the Master's face as he viewed what he would soon create. 

_"These items are powerful, but without the Dark Champion they are worthless."_

His smile faded. All this searching and they were no closer to finding the Dark Champion, the all-powerful warrior who was neither digimon nor human, the only one capable of unlocking the Eye of Nightmares and bringing him what he sought. 

And that would happen, even if all the Hosts of Heaven and all the Legions of Hell were to stand in his way. The Chosen would not threaten his destiny.

******

Hikari walked along the new spectator gallery and stopped when she came across two teams of boys playing basketball. She leaned on the rail and watched the proceedings unfold.

Chimofu was in the middle, bouncing the ball.

"Takaishi, on my left! Matsamune! Shima! On my right! Endo, back up Takaishi!"

The boys moved obediently into position. They had seen Chimofu's tactics and trusted them. Daisuke stood opposite Chimofu, crouched, ready to spring. 

"Okay new kid," he breathed, "you're going down."

Coach blew the whistle. Daisuke sprang forward, heading straight for Chimofu. He saw Chimofu's head turn to his left, towards Takeru. Daisuke grinned, his soccer-honed reflexes were up to the task, turning him left to cut them off. 

Chimofu looked straight at Takeru, Daisuke's grin widened, Chimofu's arms moved…

…and passed the ball directly to Shima Akito, who caught it and raced up the court. Daisuke screeched to a halt as Takeru ran past him. 

"Aww maaan!" And then his face went red at the giggling of the female audience in the gallery. He had made a fool of himself again.

"Hey look, Daisuke missed again," Gatomon remarked. From their perch near the ceiling of the gym hall, herself, Patamon and Chibimon could watch without fear of discovery.

"So what else is new?" Patamon was laughing at his partner's rival's discomfiture.

"Hey! Don't make fun of Daisuke! No fair!" Chibimon groused. 

"That new boy's something else," Gatomon said, mostly to herself, as her companions egged on their partners. She glanced to the observation gallery, where Hikari was. She noted the way Hikari was leaning on the rail, her chin in her cupped hands. She noted also the look she was giving the new kid. 

Deciding to talk to Hikari later about that, she turned back to the game.

Hikari cheered again as Takeru scored. Daisuke was looking furious. Normally Takeru's team was able to beat Daisuke's team by a small margin, but with Takeru and Chimofu on the same side the opposition was being trounced. 

Coach blew the whistle again, and called a halt. The winning team broke into high-fives and congratulations. Chimofu did not share in their camaraderie. 

"Okay, great job Takaishi! Chimofu, you're Captain till I find someone better! The rest of you ladies HIT THE SHOWERS!"

Hikari smiled as the boys jogged off the court. Chimofu had been made Captain.

But then she broke off. Coach normally called everyone by their family names, so why had he called Chimofu by his given name?

"Wow!" a girl next to her remarked. "Isn't Takeru just the best?"

"Why do you think Coach used Chimofu's given name?" Hikari asked.

"Probably nobody knows what his family name is," the girl replied, quite unconcerned.

"But why wouldn't they know that?" Hikari was now even more confused. The other girl looked at her as though she'd just been asked where the sun is.

"Haven't you heard?" 

"Heard what?"

"Like duh, no family name because there's no family. He's an orphan. I can't believe no one told you…"

But Hikari was no longer listening. All she could hear were those three words, repeating over and over again in her mind.

_"He's an orphan?"_ How was it possible?

Many people claim to have a little voice inside their heads. Hikari possessed several of these. The 'nice' voice was saying, _"oh that poor child, living without a mother or father, no wonder he's so cold."_

There was another voice, a nastier voice that sounded disconcertingly like Mysotismon.

_"Why are you so upset? You wanted to know why, now you know."_

It all made sense. Chimofu had probably spent his formative years in and out of orphanages and foster homes, turning him cold and severe, unwilling to make friends for fear of losing them again. 

She had never met a real orphan before, though she had come across plenty of orphaned heroes in the romance novels she had taken to reading. The hero always found redemption in love.

This knowledge tinged with something stronger, her protective instinct, her desire to help those who need help. It had kicked in when she and Takeru were in New York, when Wallis had fled from them telling them they were in danger. A part of her would not let her drop the issue; it had compelled her to follow.

And now it compelled her toward Chimofu. The only cure for his problem was love, or at least someone to talk to. And then, who knows?

Doing her best to compose herself, she stepped away from the rail and headed for the stairs, resolving to find out as much as she could about Chimofu before she confronted him again.

******

"No…don't…please…"

Magnus writhed, his eyes streaming, his sweat soaking the sheets. He clawed, thrashed, tossed his head, trapped in his most dreaded of recurring nightmares."

"Stop! No! You can't…I won't…stop this! Please!"

Then he awoke, sitting straight up, breathing heavily. 

"Magnus, are you all right?" Lupumon stretched out his arms, but Magnus swatted them away.

"Don't touch me!" His voice was venomous, though his eyes still streamed. He turned and strode angrily over to the wall, punched at the fresco until the wall slid open. 

"Magnus, why?" Magnus ignored him, grabbing the chalice and pushing it into the basin of Dark Water. He held it there until it was full. He drained the chalice, but nothing happened.

He dunked and drank again, and again, but still no effect.

"Magnus," Lupumon's voice was quavering, as though he was about to cry. "You don't have to live like this. Numbing the pain won't work forever."

"When I have the relic," Magnus said, turning slightly toward Lupumon, "there will be no need to numb it."

Lupumon shivered as he looked into Magnus' eyes. He could see them changing from blue to red. Deep inside him something snapped.

"STOP DRINKING THAT POISON!" he screamed, leaping forward, his arm stretched to knock the chalice from Magnus' hands.

Magnus stood up and swung his arm around. Lupumon was flung backwards. He smashed into the wall, stuck there for a second and then fell to the floor.

"Why won't you listen to me?" Lupumon's voice was strained; the wind had been knocked from him. "The water is…changing you. You never used to be like this." 

"That was incredibly foolish of you Lupumon," Magnus said in the voice Lupumon had come to fear and hate. "Be gone, and don't show your face in here unless I order it."

Lupumon got slowly to his feet, bowed shakily and left, tears now running down his face. 

Once he was outside the inner sanctum, he turned and looked back.

"Magnus, what's happened to you? I love you, but you don't listen to me or even talk to me any more. Why?"

****** 

(Done at last, sorry for making you all wait. I switched from 'Digidestined' to 'Chosen' to appease my spell-checker. Is that okay? More to come soon. Please review!) 

__


	7. Sinister secrets

Disclaimer – I don't own digimon or any other trademarks I might use.

(Thanks to Ken's Luver and Heath 999 for their support. Sorry again for making you wait, I am a slow writer. I hope to reveal all in time. Does anyone see a pattern emerging? Is it too obvious? If so please tell me!)

Chapter 7

The room was filled with computers. Processors and monitors, yards and yards of cable linking it all together. In the centre of it all, like a spider sitting in his web, was a mop of red hair above the top of a monitor.

There was a gurgle of liquid going up a straw, mixed with the rattle of ice cubes. Even in February, it was very hot in Koushiro's IT suite.

The keyboard clicked and clattered as four fingers and a thumb flashed over them. On the screen there appeared images of children and adults. Faces, faces and yet more faces. 

He clicked on one, and read the file. 

"Prodigious."

Knowing that he had little time, he began the download. The police network had not been too great a challenge to hack, but staying for much longer left him open to the risk of detection. He had never once been caught, but since he rarely did something like this, that was not much of an achievement. 

His list of actual computer crimes was relatively short. They were either morally justified, mostly committed gathering information to assist the Chosen. Those that weren't were mild enough for any investigating policeman to laugh, nudge his colleague and remark "Kids today eh?"

But this beat all. The information was to help a friend, but try telling that to a judge. Fortunately the Police network was not that much better protected than the Permanent records of most schools. He had once even hacked Tamachi's confidential files to look up on Ichijouji Ken. That had given him some useful expertise. 

For example, the entry 'File in Transit', which he had found in Ken's confidential file. He had found it in other files too. He knew from experience that the entry was a euphemism for 'Classified Information'.

He had checked a particular file, after a request by Hikari for information. The file in question had contained nothing other than academic records and the 'File in Transit' entry. He then realised that this search would lead him further than he had previously expected.

The download finished. Koushiro disconnected from the Internet and slid over to another monitor. He slid the disc into the drive fitted under the desk and waited for the file to open. It did so, filling the screen with reams and reams of information. 

Koushiro began to read, and his mouth dropped open halfway down the page. 

He knew when something was badly up, and here it was fairly obvious. He began to wonder just what kind of danger Hikari was getting herself into. 

Koushiro closed the file and slid over to the telephone. Time to tell the other Chosen of what he had found.

*******

Centurion was in a slightly better mood. The Master had summoned him. Finally something more interesting to do. 

His cape billowed impressively as he swept along the main corridor towards the Master's chambers. Impmon jogged along beside him. They passed mercenary digimon who snapped to attention as they went. 

Finally they reached the Master's command chamber. The door opened as soon as they came up to it, a sign that the Master had been expecting them. He was always watching. 

Centurion dropped from his stride to a slower and more deferential pace. He and Impmon moved forward and knelt at the steps of the dais. He noticed that Tanya and Kirinmon were also kneeling there. The throne-like chair spun slowly to face them.

"Centurion, I have a new assignment for you. Something well suited to your tastes. Andromon and his army have rebelled and attacked the Tower in Full Metal City. Primarch Kuryakov and his remaining Reborn are still holding out. Your mission is to go and take command. I charge you with the task of crushing the rebellion by any means you care to employ."

Centurion's heart leapt. He was being sent into battle at last, being allowed to do what he was best at. He almost wished the Chosen would turn up, so he could defeat them too. With another squad of Reborn and Beelzemon at his side, there would be no possibility of defeat. 

"Yes Excellency. I will not fail. I will crush them and throw them at your feet. I will…"

"That will do Centurion. Now go."

"Yes Excellency." Centurion and Impmon stood up, saluted, turned and left. Tanya and Kirinmon remained kneeling. The Master swivelled in his chair to face them.

"Now Tanya, I have reason to believe you have someone with you."

"She does indeed," came a sibilant voice from the shadows. 

LadyDevimon, lithe and gothic, slid into view and bowed. 

"Your Excellency, it is gratifying to be in the presence of such evil as yourself. My Lord Daemon sends his greetings."

"I'm glad to hear it. I greet him in return and wish for you to give him a gift." The Master stretched out his hand, holding it palm downward. A hole opened in the floor and a column of light came out of it. Up through the column floated a silvery sphere the size of a soccer ball. 

The hole in the floor slid shut, causing the column of light to vanish. The sphere hovered in mid-air. The Master turned his hand so that the palm faced LadyDevimon, and the sphere floated slowly towards her until she reached out and took it. 

"Look closely," the Master said when LadyDevimon looked up at him quizzically. She ran her fingers along it, paused suddenly, and smiled an evil smile.

"Your Excellency, my master will be most pleased with this gift. I can guarantee his interest in bargaining with you further."

The Master smiled, his red eyes beginning to glow.

******

Hikari shivered as the mist floated around her. She stood in the gap between the science block and the gym hall, with Gatomon lurking somewhere close in case anything happened.

She hoped that Chimofu had found her note.

It was a strangely cold day, considering that the weather had been mild previously. And the mist was frankly spooky. She stood there, shivering, waiting, hoping.

"Your curiosity is a mixed virtue Yagami Hikari." Chimofu appeared out of the mist at one end of the gap. Hikari jumped, then calmed when she saw him. He walked slowly towards her and stopped a few feet away.

"Well, I came, what did you want to see me about?"

"It's because…well, it's because…" she faltered, trying to mentally structure her sentence. "I heard about, well, you know, and…well I couldn't face you without saying something."

Chimofu stared impassively back at her. 

"I see. And what have you come to say? Have you come to ask me what it's like? Are you here to satisfy your morbid curiosity? Or perhaps you've come to laugh at me. Do you find my condition amusing? If so you are a bit of a disappointment, because no one else here has said anything."

Hikari was astonished by the volley of accusations. 

"People laughed at you? Because you're an orphan? That's terrible! Why?"

"How should I know what's going on in their spoilt little heads!" Chimofu was vehement, seething with anger. "There can be no accounting," his tone was quiet now, but venomous, "for the tastes of some people."

Hikari didn't know what to say anymore. She could see that he was angry, but there was pain and loneliness in his eyes too. She wanted to hug him, to smooth his hair, insofar as he had any hair, and tell him that everything was okay. 

She didn't know why she was so drawn to him. Was it his quiet, well-spoken self-assurance? Was it his rather droll wit? Or his aura of loneliness and vulnerability? 

Only she could see it. He was normally so impassive, impossible to offend, annoy, or to get any kind of reaction out of. How ironic that, even though he was so well armoured against pain, his heart was full of it. She could see it in his eyes.

"I just wanted you to know, that if you need someone to talk to, I'm here for you."

Chimofu looked at her, as though trying to discern her intentions. The rest just came out.

"You don't have to go through this alone. There's nothing virtuous or cool about it. It just hurts, and you've been hurt enough."

He said something under his breath. Hikari couldn't quite make it out, but it sounded like: "more than you can possibly know."

"But why do you want to?" Chimofu was confused, and perhaps a little afraid. "Why do you keep saying you want to help me? I've been here for a few weeks and all I've done is mock you. Why do you still keep trying?"

"Because I care about you! I'm worried for you. I don't want you to have to live like this. It's not fair on you. You need someone."  
Chimofu went pale, and began to shiver too. Hikari panicked. Had she had frightened him with her words? Chimofu began to back away. 

"Chimofu, it's okay, it's all right." She tried to put her arms around him but he leapt backwards, his face a mask of dread.

"Hikari, you must forget about me. Do your homework, meet your friends, go shopping, whatever. But you must forget everything you've heard about me." He began to look around the gap, even up at the window ledges and air vents, as though he thought that someone was watching him.

"Chimofu…"

"Forget about me! I don't exist! Forget everything, it's for your own good!"

He turned and sprinted down the gap. Hikari raced after him, but he vanished into the rolling mist. She reached the end of the gap. The mist cleared…

And there was no one there. He had made good his escape.

"Chimofu," there were tears in her eyes now. "Don't run away from me."

******

Full Metal City lay spread out before him. Centurion grinned as he raced onward, standing with Primarch Santiago on his partner Hornetmon, flanked by six Reborn flying in formation. Beelzemon stood there too, grinning also at the prospect of a fight.

The dome covering the city was holed in many places, mementoes of the vicious battle taking place. Columns of smoke rose from around the Dark Tower* in the centre of the city. It seemed to be intact though. Primarch Kuryakov had not yet fallen.

They dived through a gaping hole in the dome. Below Centurion could make out hundreds of Guardromon attacking two Reborn and a single Digimon. He could see Kuryakov a short distance away, shouting encouragement to his partner. 

Centurion turned to Primarch Santiago next to him.

"Begin, Primarch."

"Reborn, attack! Hornetmon! DIVE!"

The Reborn headed straight for the Guardromon, Hornetmon at their head. Beelzemon dropped lightly to the ground, drawing his shotguns. 

The Guardromon faltered, Beelzemon grinned.

"Double Impact!"

******

*Not to be mistaken for a Control Spire.

(Sorry it's a bit short. Does anyone object to me using Beelzemon? Please Review!)


	8. A desperate battle

Disclaimer – I don't own Digimon or any other trademarks. However I do own several new characters in this story. If you want to borrow any of them just ask!

(Here it is! Happy New Year all! I've had some writer's block recently so don't expect too much. Do you like the Reborn?

Also, please note. Beelzemon is in his first form, without the wings or the arm gun.)

Chapter 8

Andromon looked out over his city, the city he had hoped to liberate through a desperate uprising. Had he been able to destroy the Reborn stationed in the Tower and captured the Primarch, then his own forces would have been able to hold off anything the Black Hands could throw at him.

But it hadn't worked. He'd defeated three of the five Reborn before the Primarch could do anything, but the two remaining had kept him busy just long enough for reinforcements to be summoned.

Part of him had known that it was over. The response to his uprising had been enthusiastic; most of the Guardromon had flocked to support him. But it would not be enough so long as the Dark Tower still stood. 

These were not like the Reborn who had arrived in the beginning. The effect of the Dark Tower was to make them bigger and stronger, until they were capable of defeating an Ultimate level digimon. He had relied on the element of surprise to get this far.

The three Chosen children he's found inside the Reborn were inside his secret base, sleeping off the effects of their ordeal. They were not the ones he knew, but he helped them nevertheless.

He hoped, hoped with all of his cyborg heart, that his message had reached the Chosen of Japan. They had helped him escape the Digimon Emperor's power; perhaps they could succeed again.

Andromon glanced over to the Guardromon operating the transmitter. The Guardromon looked up at his Commander… 

…and shook his head, insofar as he could shake his head. 

Deciding to do as much as he could, even if he might have to die, Andromon straightened up and gestured at his remaining warriors to follow him. His jet boots activated and he and his elite guard flew out towards the battle. 

Even if there was no hope of winning, he could at least make a difference.

******

"Takeru? Do you know what's wrong with Hikari?" Iori was genuinely worried. Hikari had been wandering around all day in some sort of coma. 

"I'm not sure," Takeru was equally worried. Patamon had been talking to Gatomon, who had told him that Hikari had met with Chimofu that Friday. Their meeting had apparently not gone well.

"It's probably something to do with that weird kid she's been following around." Daisuke did not seem in the least bit worried. He was too busy thinking about Catherine.

"Yeah," Takeru replied. "Gatomon apparently saw everything."

"I think she's in love," Patamon remarked. Takeru had to admit that it looked like love, or a huge crush.

_"I hope he didn't turn her down. But if he did, that would explain the way she's been acting."_

"Anyway, I was just…Oh, Hikari." Hikari had just entered the computer lab. She looked very distracted, as though there was something weighing on her mind. Takeru had not seen her like that since…

__

"No! I care about you too much to let anything happen to you!"

"Hikari, what's wrong?" He went over to her and put his hand on her shoulder. She continued to ignore him, lost inside her own head as badly as Ken had ever been. 

Takeru liked to think that he knew her better than anyone, and he had never seen her like this, at least not as bad as this. She had been worried about people before, but never this kind of reaction.

"He told me to forget about him," her voice was little more than a whisper.

"But why?"

"I don't know." Hikari threw her arms around him and buried her head in his shoulder. After a few moments shock, Takeru put one arm around her waist and another around her shoulders. He ignored the stares coming from Daisuke and Iori.

"Hi everyone!" Miyako appeared at the door, hand in hand with Ken. As usual she had the snacks and as usual she was in a good mood. They both went rather red at the scene in front of them. Miyako squeezed Ken's hand to stop him running away.

"So, er, Daisuke, what's the situation?" 

"Something big! I just got a message from Andromon."  
"Andromon?" Hikari woke up, dropped Takeru and rushed forward. "What about Andromon?"

"He's in trouble. The Black Hands are attacking the city and he needs help fast!"

"Oh why did they have to attack on a Saturday morning?" Chibimon moaned.

"Because they're bad guys and need to have their booty handed to them in a sack, that's why!" said Daisuke with relish. Takeru turned to Hikari, who seemed to have lost her previous lethargy.

"Hikari, are you sure you're okay to go?"

"I'm sure! Andromon needs our help. We can deal with Chimofu later."

******

Overall the battle seemed to be going very well. The Reborn had pushed back the Guardromon and there was no sign of Andromon. Perhaps he had fled.

Not that it mattered, Centurion was enjoying himself. He stood on a heap of rubble, his cape blowing in the wind, as the Reborn advanced. Beelzemon was on point, clearing away all resistance. His voice mixed with the robotic droning of the Reborn. 

"Double Impact!"

"Red Terror!"

Fragmented data fanned into the sky as three Guardromon were destroyed.

_"Oh well. Casualties of war."_

The rest were flung backwards under the onslaught and left moaning on the ground. As the Reborn moved in to restrain them, Centurion looked to the tower. 

It was still safe; he could see Dinobeemon and Hornetmon circling it along with two Reborn. He turned back to the street, and saw the Reborn trapping the Guardromon under energy-draining nets. All was going very well…

"Gatling Missile!"

Beelzemon was knocked sprawling as a pair of missiles thudded into his chest. From out of the sky came Andromon and another squad of Guardromon. Centurion grinned.

"Caught you by surprise?" he joked, as Beelzemon got up, cursing. 

"Didn't even tickle." Beelzemon leapt at Andromon, his face a mask of rage.

"Darkness Claw!"  
"Spiral Sword!"

The two collided in mid air and were knocked to the ground. Beelzemon landed on his feet, Andromon didn't. He began to rise only to see Beelzemon racing towards him, claws hooking for his throat.

Andromon blocked, parried, blocked again. Beelzemon slashed with his claws, then did a spinning high kick that knocked Andromon over. Beelzemon somersaulted over his head and kicked him again, hurling Andromon forward. While Andromon was still in mid air, Beelzemon whipped out his shotguns.

"Double Impact!"

The shells exploded in Andromon's back. He crashed into a heap of rubble and rolled to the ground. Beelzemon advanced, laughing at Andromon's attempts to get up. 

"Is that all you've got? You're not worth my time!"

"I…won't…let…you…" But then Beelzemon kicked him in the head. Andromon rolled over onto his back and fell silent.

"Pathetic."

Meanwhile, the Reborn had trounced Andromon's elite guard and were in the process of subduing them. Centurion finished giving them orders and turned to Beelzemon. 

"Whaddaya say?"

Centurion stuck out his arm, made a 'thumbs up' sign, and turned his wrist. Thumbs down.

Beelzemon turned back to his victim, drew out one shotgun and aimed it at Andromon's head. 

"Good night."

But as he was about to pull the trigger…

"HOLD IT!"

Centurion looked up to see the six Chosen from Sami's video flying in. They had turned up after all.

Ken stared at the whatever-it-was as he slid off Stingmon's back. It appeared to be human, wearing silver-coloured body armour and a long black cape. His head was concealed in a shiny silver helmet that left only his nose, eyes and mouth visible. On his chest plate was an ornate black gauntlet clenched into a fist. It made Ken's blood run cold.

The other Chosen had not noticed this, and the symbol meant nothing to them anyway. 

"Call off your partner!" Daisuke called. "Or do you want to fight all of us?"

"Why are you attacking this city?" Miyako was incredulous and angry. "They've done nothing to deserve this."

The boy gave her an expression of utter contempt, and then laughed.

"Oh really? Well even so it's not for me to decide. I'm obeying orders, and having a lot of fun." He had an American accent. 

"Who are you?!" Hikari was very angry. "How can you think this is funny?!" The boy pulled himself up to his full height and took on a regal pose.

"I am Centurion, Leader of the Black Hands, and because you guys are hilarious. Seeing you standing there all righteous and mad, when really you don't stand a chance against me."

"Don't be so sure," Daisuke's fists were clenched. "We beat the Digimon Emperor. You're just light exercise!"

The boy stared at them silently for a few moments, then threw back his head and laughed.

"You? Beat the Digimon Emperor? You and your little digi-pets? YOU DARE LIE TO CENTURION?" His voice boomed through the city streets. 

"He's not lying," Ken said, stepping forward. "The evidence is right here. I was the Digimon Emperor, and they did defeat me," he hung his head, "and saved me from myself."

Centurion was taken aback.

_"I hope you're listening Excellency. You'll want to hear this."_

Centurion stared, his eyes boring into Ken's. Then he started laughing again. 

"Oh this is too rich! The mighty Digimon Emperor, reduced to a whiny little kid! Wait till the Master hears about this!"

"I'd rather be me living my own life and making my own choices than a slave to my own dark side." Ken was looking straight at Centurion now, his inner strength returned. Centurion scowled. 

"Enough talk. Reborn! Subdue them!"

The Reborn left the trussed Guardromon and headed straight for the Chosen.

"Watch out! These look tougher than the last ones!" Takeru called to the others. 

They looked very different to the Reborn they had faced at San Huascar. They were bigger for a start, around ten feet tall, and did not carry staves. Instead they fired their attacks from the palms of their hands.

"Red Terror!"

The digimon dodged the red energy beams. 

"Time for Jogress digivolution!" Daisuke called. Their partners paired off and leapt into the air, merging and then dropping to the ground as Paildramon, Silphymon and Shakkoumon. Centurion watched with interest.

Paildramon flew straight at one of the Reborn. It banked sideways and did a double hammer fist, knocking Paildramon to the ground. Silphymon and Shakkoumon were more cautious. 

  
"Static Force!"  
"Harmonious spirit!"

Two Reborn were hit, but took no noticeable damage. They returned fire and sent their opponents tumbling to the ground. 

Beelzemon watched the fight in fascination, laughing as the Chosen's partners were knocked around. The Chosen were not so enthusiastic.

"How did they get so powerful?" Miyako gave a squeal as she barely avoided being hit by Silphymon. Ken looked around the city, trying to see anything different, anything that could have this effect on the Reborn.

Then he started head banging. It was so obvious, sitting there in the middle of the city.

"It's the Tower! They're getting their power from the Tower! Paildramon! Destroy it!"

Paildramon needed no second bidding. He flew straight at the Tower. Centurion looked up at him as he passed, and then said something into a tiny microphone next to his mouth. 

The two digimon circling the Tower broke off and headed straight for Paildramon. As they came closer, Ken could see that they both had riders. 

"Daisuke, can I borrow your telescope?" Daisuke quickly complied. Through the telescope, Ken could see the riders more clearly. Two boys, one white skinned with blond hair, the other darker. Both wore black uniform jackets and pants and tall boots, and both looked utterly driven. 

"Paildramon! Be careful, try not to hurt them!" This was worse than he had thought. 

He had wondered who these mysterious Chosen were. But when he saw that emblem of a black gauntlet, he had known exactly who they were.

He had hoped this day would never come, but it had. And now they were recruiting other Chosen to help them. 

His reverie was disturbed when Miyako came up beside him. In the distance, Paildramon was grappling with Dinobeemon and Hornetmon. 

"What can you see?" she asked, pulling the telescope over so that she could look through it. She took one look at the distant riders.

And her mouth dropped open. Ken was immediately concerned.

"Miyako? What's wrong?"

"Oh Ken-chan," her voice was quavering. "That's Yuri over there!"

"Yuri?"

"Yeah, you remember. That cute Russian boy I told you about? Why is he fighting with the bad guys?" She turned toward Centurion, who was laughing at the hopeless situation the Chosen were in.

"YOU MONSTER! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO YURI? NO WAY WOULD HE EVER WORK FOR YOU! YOU'VE TURNED HIM EVIL!" Centurion just laughed.

"All we did was show him the world from a different perspective. We told him a little about what the Master intends and he began to see things differently. He belongs to us now."

Miyako gave a shriek of rage and ran straight at Centurion, her fists flailing. Centurion felled her with a single punch. Ken ran at him, knocking him to the ground at landing on top of him.

"Get off me you weakling!"

"Please listen! I know what you're going through. All this seems like fun but it isn't really. Stop this madness while you have a choice." Ken flew sideways as Beelzemon kicked him off. Centurion stood up, his face contorted with rage.

"I made my choice Ken Ichijouji, a long time ago. No force will stop my Master, no act is too heinous in carrying out his orders." Ken struggled to his knees and looked straight at Centurion.

"Whatever he's done to you, we can make it better. Whatever lies he's told to you, we can give you the truth. Don't do this to yourself, don't live like this, think of your mother…"

"My mother drove me here!" Centurion growled. 

"My mother, my three sisters, man-eaters all of them. After my dad left they made my life miserable, just to get back at men. My mom hated men, you see, and my sisters were allowed to be as mean to me as they pleased." His voice was cracking, Ken was sure he could see tears.

"She hated me, my mom hated me. She taught my sisters to hate boys and hurt them. My life was a nightmare. 

But now, I'm free. The Master came, while they were out, and brought me here. He told me why they did it, why I couldn't fight back. He helped me.

You see, honour and decency mean something to him. Those things meant nothing to them. When I wouldn't fight back, they took it as an excuse to hurt me some more!"

Ken was torn up inside. It was the saddest, most heartbreaking story he'd ever heard. And the worst thing was that he knew how Centurion felt, at least up to a point. To feel like your parents didn't care for you, like you were utterly alone. 

_"If he'd come for me, I'd have gone with him too."_

Miyako watched her lover and her enemy, ignoring her bruises.

_"He's not fighting. He's talking rather than fighting. No matter how much they attack, he just keeps on talking."_

That was the Ken she loved. The Crest of Kindness had gone to the right person. She felt something inside herself, something warm and soft, something that reached out to Ken.

Her Digimentals began to glow.

Daisuke watched in desperation as Paildramon was borne to the ground by his two assailants. He wanted to help, but was utterly powerless to do so. 

Not that he cared. All he knew was that he had to stop them hurting his friends.

His Digimental of friendship began to glow.

Daisuke sprinted down the street toward the two Primarchs, now hovering low as Paildramon tried to get out of the crater he had made. The dark skinned Primarch turned to gaze in shock as Daisuke leapt and knocked him off his mount. The two rolled over and over, then Daisuke managed to get on top. He punched frantically, overwhelming his opponent by not letting up. 

His knuckles were red, his enemy's face was bruised and his lip gashed, but Daisuke was too angry to care.

Then his whole body screamed in pain as something was rammed into the small of his back. He fell off and rolled over to see the other Primarch standing over him, holding a humming cattle prod. The dark-skinned enemy got up, rubbed at his lip, and kicked Daisuke in the gut. 

The kick sent him rolling further away. After a few seconds Daisuke struggled to his knees, trying to ignore the pain. Both Primarchs had their cattle prods out now and were advancing on him, their faces expressionless.

"I don't care," Daisuke snarled. "I don't care how strong you are! I'll keep on fighting! No matter what you do, I'LL KEEP ON FIGHTING!"

The Digimental of courage glowed. 

Ken finally got to his feet.

"You don't have to hate girls and women. Miyako," he gestured to his lover, who was also standing, "is the nicest person I've ever met. And Hikari is literally Miss sweetness and light, emphasis on light. They're not all like your mother and sisters."

_"Yeah, its true. Leave him alone in a room with Hikari and ten minutes later he'd be crying into her shoulder."_

Ken reached out his hand to Centurion.

"Come with us, we can help you. Hatred doesn't heal, but love does." He glanced at Miyako. 

His Crest glowed.

And Paildramon was suddenly covered in white light. 

Hikari was desperate. The Reborn had Silphymon and Shakkoumon on the ropes. In their enhanced forms the Reborn were equal to Ultimate level digimon, and they already had the Jogress digimon outnumbered. 

She could only watch in horror as the Reborn knocked them about. Then finally they both fell to the ground, seemingly unconscious. She ran to Silphymon, just as Takeru and Iori ran to Shakkoumon. The Reborn loomed over them. They raised their hands to fire…

"Chromium Starlight!"

"Talisman spell!"

Suddenly she and the others were hidden inside a semi-transparent dome that had appeared out of nowhere. One of the Reborn fell to the ground and devolved into an unconscious little girl and a Gotsumon. As one the Chosen looked to what had caused this.

In the street were four digimon and three humans. One boy, rather bizarrely dressed with brown hair and blue eyes, stood next to a huge humanoid digimon with red wings. A girl, with tied brown hair, stood next to what appeared to be a humanoid tiger in black and white robes. The third figure was sitting on a huge silver horse, dressed entirely in white. Behind him stood a tall humanoid digimon in white armour and red cape, carrying a huge round shield and a long lance.

All of them had gold scarves tied around their right arms.

Three more Chosen, a powerful digimon, and at the other end of the street, Imperialdramon.

"_Hope,"_ Hikari thought. _Light riding on a silver steed. The sun will rise again."_

And then Silphymon was bathed in light. 

Centurion took one look at it and knew it was hopeless. Three Mega-level digimon and five Ultimates against one Mega, six Reborn and two Ultimates, who were now being beaten up by Imperialdramon.

And that wasn't all. Ken's words had seared across his soul. 

_He wants to help. He says he knows what it's like._

He was the first person after the Master, the second person ever, to ever reach out to him. Centurion began to wonder about what Ken had said. He looked at Ken.

For a moment, just a moment, he wanted to take Ken's hand. A part of him, deep inside, that hated all this fighting, all this suffering. It screamed at him to go with Ken. 

__

It's your last chance; you want to be free. Go with him!

But then he remembered all that the Master had done for him. If he followed his inner voice, he would be betraying the Master and everything he and his fellow Black Hands had worked so hard to achieve. 

Then came despair. Would the Master forgive his failure? Was the Master still his friend, deep down inside? Was the Master still Magnus?

Perhaps it would be better to order an all out attack. End it all in a blaze of glory.

But no, the Chosen would not let him die honourably. And there was no sense in losing his entire command in futile heroics.

"Reborn! To me!" As the Reborn marched to him, Beelzemon looked horrified.

"But, Centurion…!"

"Do you mean to fight three Megas?" Centurion asked, with as much sarcasm as he could muster.

"I'll rip them to shreds!" Beelzemon roared. 

"You'll get your head kicked in and us all dragged off to rehab." Beelzemon snarled and made to attack, Centurion grabbed his arm.

"There'll be another time." Beelzemon hung his head.

"I'm sorry Logan."

"Don't be. There's nothing we can do now." The Reborn formed a defensive perimeter while Centurion tapped a switch on his wrist. A portal appeared in front of him.

"Please," Ken said again. "Don't go. Come with me."

Centurion looked at Ken, his eyes sad. "I'm sorry Ken Ichijouji, but I cannot betray my Master. Farewell."

He stepped through the portal, followed by the Reborn and the dark skinned Primarch and his partner. Beelzemon went last, shaking his fist at the Chosen before stepping through. 

Ken looked around, at the ruined city, at the Guardromon and their unconscious leader, at Miyako, who was coming up the street carrying an unconscious Yuri. He looked at the other Chosen, and at the other Chosen who had come to save them. 

Somehow, the digital world seemed a much more dangerous place all of a sudden.

(Finally it's done! Does anyone object to me using Taomon and Cyberdramon? Please keep reviewing! I need your reviews to keep my spirits up!") 


	9. Old friends and new

Disclaimer – I don't own digimon. I only own the characters I've invented (Ask if you want to borrow them. I'll be glad to assist). Any similarities are purely coincidental bla bla bla.

(Here it is. I don't know how long this story is going to get. Thanks to Ken's luver and Heath 999 for their faithful reviewing.)

Chapter 9

Ken turned to Miyako as she came up to him. Yuri lay unconscious in her arms, his uniform had disintegrated, exposing his normal clothes.

"Is he okay?"

"He's fine, for now." Her tone was pained. 

She had known Yuri, if only briefly, and liked him. To see someone she had known to be as good and noble as any other Chosen wearing an enemy uniform and obeying enemy orders was tearing at her heart. The conflict had come closer to home. Closer than anyone would have wished.

Ken put a hand on her shoulder, and looked her in the eyes. She stared back, wishing in this dark hour to lose herself in Ken's eyes.

"How is he?"

They both looked up to see the boy with brown hair come up to them. Ken stared at him for a while, then cocked an eyebrow.

"Ryo?"

"Ken?"

There was an unsettling pause. Then they laughed aloud and threw themselves at one another. It made Miyako jump and the others sweat-dropped. 

"Ryo! It's been so long! Where have you been all this time?"

"I should ask you the same question! And how did you get so big?"

Miyako stared at them. She had never seen Ken so happy. 

"Er, excuse me, I don't mean to impose but, who are you?"

Ryo disengaged from Ken and turned to her, smiling still.

"My name is Ryo. Ken and I are old friends. We shared our first adventure in the digital world." Miyako was pleasantly surprised. Ryo seemed nice enough.

"So anyway Ken, who are these gorgeous gals you've got following you?" Hikari went pink, Miyako went scarlet, the boys sweat-dropped. 

Ken introduced all the Chosen to Ryo and Cyberdamon, and to his female companion, Alicia, who came up with her partner Renamon, and to Gallantmon. The third was a little more reserved, coming up shortly after Alicia. To Ken's surprise, Ryo, Alicia, their partners and Gallantmon all bowed as he approached. 

This left the Chosen feeling rather embarrassed, with the kind of feeling one gets when one is in the presence of someone important but one does not know who this person is. 

Miyako stared in wonder at the image before her. It wore silvery chain mail not unlike what Centurion had been wearing, along with a white surcoat and cloak, and a helmet that concealed his face. The surcoat bore the symbol of a red crucifix, over which a black saltire was superimposed. It was tied with a black belt, from which hung a gold-coloured D3 and a sword. The image was mounted on an armoured silver horse. He had a voice like a Shakespearean hero.

"I am Casimir, the White Lord, and this is Chromequumon. I greet you Chosen of Japan." 

Ken's eyes grew wide. The White Lord! 

"But I thought you were a fairy tale!" Gatomon exclaimed. Hikari looked highly embarrassed and frantically tried to shush her up. Casimir lifted off his helmet, revealing white-blond hair, brown eyes and a chiselled but pleasant face. He smiled slightly.

"Reports of my assimilation into Andersson's library have been greatly exaggerated." He looked down at Ryo, still smiling.

"Ryo, am I right in thinking that you know Master Ichijouji well?"

"He saved my life Sire" Ryo said, grinning. "He and his companions are as heroic as you told us."

"Told you?" Takeru was taken aback at this. He looked up at Casimir. "How did you know about us…my Lord?" He blushed. Casimir's smile grew a little wider. 

"I have been watching you for some time. I watched your predecessors fight and defeat Myotismon and the Dark Masters. I watched you fight and defeat the Digimon Emperor. I watched as you fought Arukennimon's clone digimon. I have long hoped to meet you, as have my followers."

He looked to see Gallantmon come forward carrying Andromon, who was now awake. The Guardromon had been freed. 

__

"Andromon, your city is safe. I am sorry that we could not come sooner."

"Don't worry, your Lordship. I'm just grateful that you did come. We thought that you had abandoned the Digital world."

"Andromon is right," Iori said, stepping forward and bowing deeply. "We could not have succeeded if you had not come. Thank you Casimir-senpai." Casimir glanced at Iori, then looked away as though embarrassed.

"Andromon. You must return with me so that your injuries can be healed." He turned to Gallantmon, "I need you to protect the city until Andromon is well again."

"Sire, it is my honour to obey."

Kazimir turned back to the Chosen.

"I will also need to bring Yuri Kuryakov to my Castle so that he may be deprogrammed. We would be honoured if you would accompany us." 

******

"So what do you make of it?" Sami sat, legs crossed, on an access panel while Conrad tapped at a keyboard. Numbers and symbols flashed over the screen above them. Sami had become quite computer literate with her brother's help, but she found this lot completely indecipherable.

"It seems that whoever wiped the RAM forgot to wipe the ROM. There's still a list of tasks here." Conrad tapped, symbols shifted, numbers crunched. "Everything's been deleted, but there was download made about half an hour earlier." Sami sat up.

"You mean, someone removed the files?"

"Yes, a lot of data. This might be what you were looking for." Sami grinned in triumph, but then grimaced as Conrad spoke up again. "Have you told the Master about this?"

Sami had not. She had found the small facility hidden deep inside the Red Ridge Mountains. She was there now with Conrad, trying to find anything the Digimon Emperor might have left behind before his defeat. 

The facility was constructed to the Digimon Emperor's grandiose tastes. This was a small, functional, backup storage base presumably to be used if anything happened to the central computer core aboard his ship. Yet it was deliberately designed with brooding darkness and shadows at every corner. At the curve in the corridor was a panorama view of the mountains outside, provided by a view screen concealed by a holo-field.

"No point in telling him just yet. Not until I have a full report." She glanced down the corridor behind them. Psybermon and Bansheemon were standing on the corridor, watching the view. It was bitterly cold and her breath came out as a cloud of vapour. The Digimon Emperor had never bothered with air conditioning or central heating. 

Psybermon clenched and unclenched his 3-fingered hands. 

He hated it up here. Few digimon ventured into this area, and he didn't particularly want to find out why. He stared at the blood-coloured mountains and black crags, wondering what horror had earned this place its name. 

Okay, so digimon didn't have blood. But the concept, like many things in the Digital World, was derived from human culture. 

He knew that something terrible had happened here. He had heard stories of a horrendous battle fought on the slopes of Black Spire, the tallest of the mountains. Thousands of digimon dying in ways too horrible to imagine. The powers of Darkness unleashed.

There was some truth to it, for the Digital world had been overrun with the powers of Darkness until four years previously, when the Chosen of Japan had used the Crests of the Powers of Light to banish the darkness. Psybermon sometimes wondered what would happen if the Master's plan failed. Would there be another horror?

He consigned himself to not knowing, at least for the time being.

__

2 Hours Later

"Report Sami"

"Excellency. We have searched the facility and found no data. However, we found that all the data had been downloaded before it was destroyed."

"How fortunate for you. Track down Ken Ichijouji and do not rest until you have the data. Now go." Sami and Conrad bowed and left. 

The Master grinned beneath the shadow cast by his black hood, his red eyes glowed.

_"So, the noble Ken Ichijouji was unable to give up the power he had once wielded. How very convenient. With it in my hands the Armour of Night and the Black Sword will be ready in no time."_

The Master turned to the screens where progress reports and inventories were flooding in. He wondered for a few moments what had happened to Lupumon. He banished the distracting thoughts and set to work.

******

Inside Imperialdramon's air bubble, there was a School reunion atmosphere. Though the White Lord remained apart from the others, standing at the front end of the bubble, arms folded, staring straight ahead, Ryo, Alicia and the rescued Chosen children mixed freely. Their partners either sat together talking or wrestled on the floor. Only Cyberdramon was not present.

"I thought it best that he lead the way," Ryo explained when asked. "He can be a little unruly when he sees someone to fight. He's not the sort of digimon you'd take to a Christmas party, not unless you want him to wreck the food, break all the presents, knock out the Santa Claus and stick the tree where the sun don't shine."

Casimir's vigil was disturbed by footsteps coming towards him. He glanced sideways as Ken came up next to him.

"It is not far to my Castle."

"It's funny," Ken smiled sheepishly, "I'm the only one who's said a word to you on this trip, and long ago you were the only one who said a word to me." Casimir smiled, remembering:

__

(Flashback sequence)

The mood was sombre, the lights dimmed. Lanterns hung about, and funerary pictures had been placed at regular intervals. Mourners dressed in black stood around in small groups, discussing the person in those pictures. They discussed the many different ways in which they had known one boy:

Ichijouji Osamu.

A small, forlorn figure sat off to one side, staring at one of the pictures.

_"Osamu, I didn't mean it. I didn't really want you to die. Please come back."_

"Difficult day?" came a voice from beside and above him. Ken looked up to see a boy sit down next to him. He was about ten years old, had soft white hair and brown eyes. He smiled gently at him, the way Osamu used to.

"Hello," Ken said meekly. "Did you know my brother too?"

"In a manner of speaking. I worked on a project with him."

"Yeah. He met all kinds of people. Everyone wanted to be his friend."

"I can imagine."

"Do you know you're the only person who's talked to me all day? Everyone used to notice Osamu, but not me." Ken looked sad for a moment, then looked up at him again. "What's your name?"

"Casimir."

"I'm Ken. You have a nice name."

"So have you."

"I didn't mean it."

"Didn't mean what?"

"I didn't mean for him to go. I was just mad at him." Tears began to trickle down his face. "He was a better person than me. He was best at everything. I wished for him to disappear…"

He snuffled, and Casimir put a hand on his shoulder. It was the only comforting thing in Ken's world.

"Your brother's death was a tragic accident, nothing more."

"But I wished for it!"

"The wishes of little boys aren't strong enough to hurt someone. And it's not in your nature to really want to." Ken snuffled again, and wiped his face on his sleeve.

"That's…what my brother used to say."

_"You're better at it than me because you're gentle."_

Ken turned on the chair and held out his arms to Casimir. Casimir, deciding it could do no harm, reached forward and hugged the distraught young boy. Ken threw his arms around his neck and buried his face in his shoulder. 

"Oh dear, what ever's the matter Ken?" came a voice designed to be pleasant, but sounding anything but. Casimir looked up to see a sinister-looking man with long purple hair walking up, wearing the sort of smile that is supposed to look kind and friendly but just makes the wearer look like he is planning something. Casimir stood up, trying to disentangle Ken. 

"Poor Ken," the man said. "So young, too young to have to suffer such a loss." He bowed slightly. "I am Oikawa Yukio, a friend of the family." 

Casimir bowed more deeply, "I am Casimir Falco Vilmont, a friend of Osamu." He put Ken down, but Ken immediately scrambled behind him and clung to his leg. Oikawa smiled a rather strained smile.

"Come now Ken, don't trouble the young Sir. I have some things to discuss with you."

"Don't let him take me," Ken looked utterly terrified, staring up at Casimir with pleading in his eyes. "Please?"

Casimir looked down at Ken, then up at Oikawa, who was trying to look trustworthy, then down at Ken again. He looked up at Oikawa, frowning.

"Can't you see he's terrified," he said through gritted teeth. He was angry; angry with this man for being so heartless, angry because he had just had to do what Ken's parent's should have been doing. 

Oikawa smiled, but it was a forced smile. 

"Ken, what have you been telling the young sir," he looked at Casimir, trying to fake an embarrassment. "I'm so sorry. He's got such a vivid imagination." Ken clung tighter. Casimir was getting angrier.

"He doesn't want to talk to you. Why can't you take a hint, you perverted little man."

Some of the other exchange students, of whom Casimir was a member, had noticed them, though none of the other guests had.

"Oh dear, someone's ticked off Falco."

"Lavender locks had better be careful."

Oikawa glared daggers at Casimir, but restrained himself.

"Little am I? Well you'll soon see otherwise, Casimir-kun. The _hard _way." He turned on his heel and headed for the buffet table. Ken detached himself from Casimir's leg and looked up at him, smiling at last.

"Thank you."

"It was no problem."

"Vilmont? A word if you please." Another boy strode up. He didn't look happy. Casimir patted Ken's shoulder and went with the older boy. Ken listened from a distance as they talked.

"What on earth did you think you were doing?!" Their voices were low, but their speech forceful nonetheless.

"What did you expect me to do? Leave him to that…"

"I meant with Osamu's brother. What did you mean by that display?! I watched you cosseting that boy, I just hope his parents didn't see. Imagine the embarrassment…"

"They should be embarrassed! They've behaved disgracefully!"

"I know that! But it's not our place to interfere in their family life. They may bear their own sins upon their own heads."

"Are you a man or a monster?!"

"I should ask you the same question, considering your family history." 

__

(End sequence)

Ken and Casimir faded back into the present. 

"I was thinking about what you said," Ken started. "About my wishes not being able to hurt anyone?" Casimir cleared his throat.

"You are a Chosen child, Ken Ichijouji, and as such you possess a particular power. If you had truly wanted your brother to die, no force on Heaven or Earth could have prevented it. But I say again that it was not your wish that condemned him, for your heart would not permit it. 

I knew your brother for only a short time. But he became as good a friend to me as anyone could wish for. I have long regretted his passing, but then realised that he wished no such thing. 

Whether or not you consider yourself responsible for his death, he would not have wished for you to punish yourself."

Ken was overcome. "Really?"

"Truly. All Osamu ever wanted of you was to be the little brother he loved so much. Whether he lived, or died. For it was you who made his life worth living."

_"We blew bubbles all afternoon. He always beats me, but I don't mind because he's gentle."_

"Indeed?"

"Yeah, he's sweet. He reminds me that there's something finer in life than success. He's my Angel."

Ken stared for a moment, and then smiled.

"Thank you, your Lordship. You've set my spirit free."

"It was the least I could do, Master Ichijouji."

(Weird I know. Well at least it's done. Sorry to make you wait, the next chapter will be up soon. Until then, please R+R!) 


	10. Lunch with the White Lord

Disclaimer- I don't own digimon or anything else in here, except in some insane fantasy. Don't ask.

(Ready at last! Hope I didn't drive you all too insane with waiting. Thanks again to Ken's luver and Heath 999. By the way, Ryo is wearing his Season 3 costume, but with the gold scarf around his upper right arm.)

Chapter 10

Casimir watched, amused, as Ken was pulled left and right by a tall lavender-haired girl and a short brown-haired girl.

"MINE!"

"MINE!"

"MINE!"

"MINE!"

The others had known that this was going to happen from the moment Rosa had woken up, from when she had started clinging to Ken's leg and babbling about how much she had missed him, from when the steam had started shooting out of Miyako's ears.

It had been going on for several minutes now, neither girl looked like she was going to let up. Ken was looking rather strained.

"Can't we just talk about this?"

"NO!"

Hawkmon and Gotsumon were rolling about next to them. Gotsumon had intervened when Hawkmon had tried to trip Rosa up.

"Get off me you brute! I won't let her take Ken away!"

"Not a chance! She wants Ken and I'm gonna help her!"

The other Chosen were either laughing self-consciously or looking embarrassed. Hikari attempted to remedy the situation.

"Miyako, Rosa, this isn't get us anywhere…"

"MIND YOUR OWN BEESWAX!" Hikari looked incredibly crestfallen. 

Casimir suddenly seemed bored. He drew his sword and walked up to the struggling girls, raising the blade high. There were shocked gasps from among the Chosen.

"Isn't that a little drastic?" Takeru deliberately used a deferential tone. Casimir ignored him. He brought the blade down…

…hitting Miyako on the head with the flat of the blade. She let go of Ken and fell to the floor, her eyes rolling and a large lump poking through her hair. Rosa looked triumphant, until she received the same treatment. Their struggling partners ceased their wrestling and backed away. Ken looked dazed.

"Have you quite finished?" Casimir asked conversationally as he sheathed his sword. The two girls got up after a few seconds, and the Chosen could almost see the lightning crackling between their eyes.

"Listen sister! Ken and I are an item, so keep your hands off!"

"Oh yeah?! Well you listen! I've been dreaming about Ken since Christmas! We belong together!"

"That's just a little kid's crush! Ken is my…!"

"BEHAVE YOURSELVES!" Casimir roared, waving his sword in the air. Both girls suddenly turned on him.

"OH YEAH! AND WHAT ARE YOU GONNA DO ABOUT IT?!" they screamed in unison.

"CEASE THIS DISPLAY OR BY SAINT GEORGE I'LL SHAVE YOUR HEADS WITH MY SWORD!"

Miyako and Rosa squealed and cowered behind Ken. Casimir seemed to calm down after a few moments and sheathed his sword again.

"Now, are you willing to settle this like civilised people?"

"Okay okay!" Miyako was terrified. "Just keep that thing away from my hair!"

"Yeah! Rosa was clutching her pigtails protectively. "I need my hair!" Ken bent down in front of Rosa and looked her in the eyes.

"Rosa, I know this is hard, but we just aren't meant for one-another. I love Miyako very much and I just don't feel that way about you. I'm sorry but that's just how it is." Rosa looked utterly downhearted. Ken suddenly felt like he had to say something more.

"Rosa, I…"

"It's okay. I understand." She turned away and looked at the floor. Gotsumon hovered at her shoulder, uncertain what to do. Ryo knelt down next her, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Cheer up kiddo! It's not the end of the world!" He faltered, slowly realising that she was staring straight at him, a rather worrying smile spreading over her face.

"Wow! You're even cuter than Ken. What's your name?" Ryo sweat-dropped. 

"Er, my name's Ryo." The Chosen could almost see the little red hearts floating out of Rosa's head. Ryo was now very disconcerted.

"Ryyyyoooo." Rosa rolled the word about on her tongue, still staring, enraptured, at Ryo.

"Are you feeling all right?"

"I'm just fine." Ryo looked as though she had just asked him a personal question. He started scratching the back of his neck and laughing self-consciously. 

"How can this be?" asked one of the rescued Chosen, who had turned out to be the Hoi brothers.

"Maybe she likes…older guys," said another. 

"Look at that!" Iori was staring through a transparent section of the bubble. All the Chosen and digimon ran to join him.

Laid out below them was a glittering white city, in the shadow of a tall mountain. And overlooking the city, as though it had grown out of the mountain, was a castle. Tall round towers, topped with fluttering pennons, shining white walls, all crafted in astounding detail. 

But as they flew closer, they could see the small cross-shaped slits cut into the walls and towers at regular intervals. They could see that the walls, though beautiful, were thick and their battlements were tall. Armoured digimon stood sentry on the wall, their silver armour shining in the sun. This was a fortress as much as a work of art.

But it was still like something out of a dream.

"It's…wonderful!" Miyako was entranced. 

"It's like nothing I've ever seen," Ken stared, holding his lover's hand.

"Yeah," Daisuke commented, grinning. "And I bet that any minute now we'll King Arthur and his Knights riding by!" Takeru flicked Daisuke's ear playfully. Rosa had taken the opportunity to grab Ryo's leg. As he panicked and tried to shake her off, to the amusement of the others, Casimir strode up and took a position to the side of the view. 

"My friends. May I be the first to welcome you to Sanctum City."

****

They stepped from Imperialdramon's bubble, and onto the white flagstones of the inner courtyard. Imperialdramon dedigivolved and Wormmon and V-mon joined their Chosen-partners as they walked with Casimir towards the main entrance. The huge vaulted doors swung open and two lines of silver-armoured digimon marched out, their armour clanking. The lines split sideways, the digimon moving along the walls. They halted, turned to face the approaching Chosen and snapped to attention. 

There was a rumble as something large and heavy moved along the corridor in their direction. Surprised, the Chosen stopped. Casimir continued a few steps and then stopped also, seeming perfectly confident. The thing stepped into the light.

Eight feet of black and silver armour, with a hexagonal shield over the back. A long silver-helmeted muzzle with a pair of curved horns. A gold scarf of proportionate length around the upper right arm. It dropped to one knee before Casimir. The eyes of each Chosen child widened in shock and recognition.

"BLACKWARGREYMON!" they yelled in unison. Casimir, Ryo and Alicia smiled.

"Sire, we rejoice at your safe return."

"You have done well my friend. The city does not seem to have burnt to the ground in my absence." Iori ran past Casimir until he reached the enormous digimon's feet.

"Did you find your purpose?" 

"I did, Hida Iori." Casimir raised an eyebrow, though he was still smiling.

"You know our guests also?"

"Indeed sire. It was because of them that I sought to serve you. I learned from them that there are greater purposes in life than mindless destruction."

"Indeed," Casimir turned to the Chosen. "It seems that you have the uncanny ability to make friends in the strangest of places. Come, follow."

They finally came to a stop at an elaborately carved double-door. The unconscious Yuri had been taken to the medical wing. 

"I think perhaps," Casimir said, "you are hungry."

"Hey!" Daisuke cocked his head. "How do you…" There was a bellicose rumbling from below. Hikari tittered at his embarrassed look. Casimir grinned.

"I thought so. Come." He opened the double doors to reveal a large veranda, open to the sunny sky. But Daisuke was not interested in the view.

He was staring at the table, piled with every kind of food imaginable. He drooled, the others winced.

"Can we…?!"

"By all means." Daisuke and V-mon proceeded to demolish the spread between them, though the others managed to get some too. Hikari noticed that BlackWarGreymon, sitting against the back wall, wasn't eating anything.

"Aren't you going to eat something too?" she asked him.

"And leave you all with nothing?" Hikari burst out laughing, as much through surprise at any attempt at a joke by the previously emotionless warrior.

"Did you find it funny? Agumon taught me about humour, but I haven't had the opportunity to use it much."

"It's hilarious. With a little practice you could be really witty." Hikari stood next to him, and fingered the gold-coloured scarf.

"Why do you all wear this?"

"It signifies that we are the White Lord's followers. Ryo started doing it out of admiration for him, then the others followed suit." 

Some time later, the Chosen sat sprawled in chairs, barely able to move under the weight of their full stomachs. The table was quite bare, though fortunately they had been to stop Chibimon eating it. 

"That…was something else." Daisuke would not forget the White Lord's hospitality any time soon.

"What was I thinking?" Miyako seemed slightly worried. "I'll not fit in my clothes for days."

"So," Takeru said, changing the subject. "We were hoping, my Lord, that you'd something about the Black Hands." Casimir lowered his goblet, his face going from a slight smile to a look of intense severity.

"If so, then we had best repair to somewhere better equipped."

**** 

The huge screen seemed somehow out of place in the medieval surroundings. Once the Chosen were gathered around it, Casimir stepped up and raised his hand to the screen. The lights dimmed and several pictures appeared on the screen. 

"These are the four Black Hands, plus eight lesser followers whom we have encountered. We have identified the Black Hands as Logan Stern, Tanya Adams, Sami Hammond, and Conrad Hammond. Of these lesser followers, we have only identified Yuri Kuryakov."

"Yeah, but what about their leader?" Ken asked.

"Their leader, I believe, is this fellow." The pictures were replaced by a single picture of a boy aged about twelve with white hair and blue eyes. His smile was hauntingly familiar.

"That's weird, he looks just like you, but with different eyes," Miyako remarked.

"And that smile, it's like that old magazine picture of Ken," Takeru piped in. Casimir turned away from them. Hikari, concerned, came up beside him. His face was twisted into a mask of sorrow.

"He looks like me," he said at last, "because he is of the same bloodline as myself. He is my cousin." 

The Chosen gave a collective scream of surprise to the effect of "WHAT?! YOUR COUSIN?!"

"Yes," Casimir replied, hanging his head. "There is no point in hiding this fact any longer. And I will no longer deny that my failure to help him allowed this horror to be unleashed upon the Digital world."

"But why?" Hikari seemed gutted. "Why would someone with such a gentle smile do such terrible things?" Casimir paused, then cleared his throat.

"He was born Magnus Commodus Vilmont, the elder of two sons. His brother's name was Luke, but he was not acknowledged; though he was legitimate. They lived in their parent's mansion outside of New York. Their father was, rich, powerful, and remorselessly cruel. Their mother was no better. Luke was the luckier of the two, in that he was merely beaten and neglected. Magnus was trained to be as ruthless as his parents were.

But he resisted the training. His nature would not permit him to assimilate their teachings. His parent's thugs beat him for any defiance, particularly when he refused to hurt Luke. For he was a gentle soul you see, a kind and loving soul. The very antithesis of the demons that spawned him. He loved his little brother more dearly than he loved his own well being; and Luke loved him in return. He often told me of the tenderness Magnus showed him, of the lullaby he sang." Magnus closed his eyes again, as though trying to remember. Then he began to sing.

__

Little Child, sweet and mild,

Hear my slumber song.

I am here,

Do not fear,

I am ever near.

Angels waiting all around,

Watchful ever nigh. 

All is right,

Sleep tonight,

Till the morning light 

Casimir looked up at the Chosen. They all looked gutted.

"How?" Iori was shivering. "How could someone who used to sing his little brother to sleep be so evil?" Miyako put her arms around his shoulders. A tear ran down Ken's face.

"There's more," Casimir choked slightly. "This tragedy does not soon end. 

There was another who had a place in Magnus' heart. A certain girl who lived in a town nearby. They met by chance, but began to meet each other regularly. They fell in love. Everything was so perfect because she loved Luke almost as much as Magnus did, and Luke adored her.

But then Magnus' parents found out. They were furious at their son's defiance. They demanded that he never see her again, making all manner of petty and childish threats. But they were ignored. Magnus' lover paid a terrible price for their naivete.

A team of thugs came and kidnapped her in the night. Magnus was devastated, he knew that his parents were responsible and that she must surely be dead. Plenty more had died that way. What was worse was that his parents had the unmitigated gall to tell him that her fate was his fault.

Any love he felt for them died on that cold morning, replaced with utter hatred. A few days later the police received a certain phone call. The very next day they ambushed Magnus' parents and their associates at a supposedly secret meeting, making several arrests. Luke was taken into protective custody and later adopted by a young couple, with whom he now lives in safety. By the time I arrived, Magnus had already disappeared."

Casimir breathed in and out. His face looked haunted.

"And there is my answer. I allowed Magnus to be mistreated; I failed to find him after his parents were arrested. My incompetence caused this horror."

"No." Ken stepped forward. "If you are to blame, then I am too. You know who I was and what I did. Well here's something you didn't know about."

(Finally done. Did I get BlackWarGreymon's description right? I'm sorry if you find the lullaby a little insipid, but it seemed appropriate. Until next time, please R+R!) 


	11. A troubling development

Disclaimer – I don't own digimon or any other trademarks yadder yadder.

(Thanks for being so understanding. I hope to update as regularly as possible. Are certain patterns emerging in this story? If so tell me, so that I can complicate things a little more to keep you all interested.)

Chapter 11

"But how?" Miyako was both mystified and concerned. "How can it be your fault Ken?" Ken turned to look at the other Chosen, his eyes full of remorse.

"When I was the Digimon Emperor, I sought power. I liked to conquer and control, to enslave and to torture. 

But eventually it got boring. The Empire required too much maintenance. I found that I enjoyed battle and conquest more than ruling. It took so much of my time to keep things running that I barely had enough time to concentrate on conquest.

Also, controlling digimon wasn't enough. I wanted a human servant, another Chosen to do my bidding. I looked everywhere, and then, two years ago, I found him.

He was alone. Just him and his partner Lupumon. Ten years old and ready to rumble. He fought me at every turn. He destroyed my control spires, freed whole camps of slaves, defeated my minions. 

But I knew that he had a weakness. He couldn't seem to make Lupumon digivolve beyond Champion level. I simply threw legion after legion of equally powerful slaves at him until he could take no more.

I was watching him all the time. I could see him slipping slowly into darkness:

_"Is nothing I do enough Lupumon? Am I truly so weak and worthless?"_

"You're not worthless Magnus. You're just not that powerful."

"I should be! I have to be! There's no other way!"

He began to change. He started fighting alongside Lupumon, using amazing powers like nothing I'd ever seen except in comic books. I pushed him harder, forced him to get stronger and stronger. Then finally, when I 'd decided he'd fallen far enough, I confronted him one last time:

_"Can't you feel it? Can't you see how much better this is? Don't you feel more alive than ever before? _

"Yes…"

"You've tasted power, real power. Not that touchy-feely sputum those other Chosen preach about. Don't you want to be even stronger?"

"The power…it makes things …clearer. It makes me see…"

"Precisely! I can give you what you need to make yourself supreme. All I ask in return is your service. Together, we can achieve anything! ANYTHING!"

"Yes…my Emperor."

"Welcome to the future…my Black Hand."

"And there you have it. I took a confused, hurt young boy and turned him into my very own Darth Vader. He ran my Empire, organised the infrastructure, crushed any resistance. And I looked on, watching my greatest creation at work.

He was always loyal. He left me only after I had been defeated and my Empire destroyed. I've been looking for him ever since I ceased to be the Digimon Emperor." Ken looked as though he were confessing a murder. He shuddered, and tears ran down his face.

"I made him what he is now. If I hadn't…then this wouldn't have happened. That is why this is all my fault."

Ken just stood there for a moment, still shuddering, his face wet with grief.

Then, to his surprise, something approached him, unidentifiable through his blurred vision. It wrapped two long arms around him and pulled him into itself. He hugged Miyako back.

"Ken, it doesn't matter any more. Just let it go. Let it all go." For some strange reason, not even Iori wanted to argue with that sentiment.

"She is right Ken," Casimir laid a hand on Ken's shoulder. "It is as I said about your brother. To dwell on one's past crimes is to lose the moment, and to lose the moment is to lose the future. Blaming yourself is a waste of time." 

Ken stood up, still holding Miyako, and nodded, wiping his face with his sleeve.

"You're right. You're both right. This isn't getting us anywhere."

"Yeah," Daisuke spoke up. "What matters is finding Magnus and giving him a taste of his own medicine!" Casimir looked up, suddenly angry."

"Harm one hair on his head and I'll break your scrawny neck!"

"Hey! Hey!" Daisuke backed off, raising his hands to placate Casimir. "I didn't say we should hurt him, just capture him. Maybe then you can…you know…deprogram him."

"That will not be as easy as deprogramming Yuri," Casimir was now calm, almost taciturn, "and that will be no mean feat." 

"But Manuel-kun, Rosa-kun and the Hoi brothers all turned back to normal when we freed them." Hikari looked confused.

"A Reborn is created by fusing a Chosen child with his or her partner. Other algorithms and codes are then added to the new programme, the result is a Reborn. They are fearless, utterly obedient, and will fight to the death if so ordered. Fortunately the child and digimon inside each Reborn are freed when it suffers fatal injury.

The Primarchs are a different matter. They are Chosen children with hang-ups of some kind. Most of them had the same digivolution problems as Magnus."

"You make it sound like impotence," Takeru remarked. 

"Magnus sought them out, and gave them these in return for their loyalty." Casimir reached under his cloak and took out a small black ring. "This is the Power Ring I found on Yuri's finger. It allowed him to unconsciously tap into his inner strength; increasing his ownabilities and giving his partner the strength to digivolve. The down side is that it diminished his soul, causing him to become more negative. The price of power."

"So, he's found a way to make Dark Rings work on human beings," Takeru said deliberately, "this gets worse and worse." 

Casimir was about to speak again, but then he noticed that Ken was staring at the ring, his eyes wide, sweat dripping down his brow.

"Uh, Casimir-san? Can I hold it for just a second?" Casimir began to hold out his hand, but then stopped when he saw the look in Ken's eyes.

"I don't think you should."

"Just for a second."

"You'd best not…"

"Give me the ring!"

"I think you should…"

"GIVE IT TO ME!" Ken's muscles bulged. He hit Casimir in the jaw, knocking him to the floor. Before anyone could intervene, he snatched the ring from mid air and darted through the doorway. 

"KEN! WAIT!" the Chosen yelled after him as Casimir struggled to his feet, helped by Ryo and Alicia.

"PRAETORMON! DON'T LET HIM ESCAPE!"

***

Ken sprinted down the corridor. He had never felt so alive in a long time. With his spore reactivated and the ring on his finger, he was invincible.

A pair of Praetormon, silver armoured champion digimon, moved to cut him off. With effortless speed Ken dodged one and sent the other sprawling. He continued down the corridor, then screeched to a halt in a cross-corridor, lined with large windows. Ten Praetormon stood waiting for him. As he pulled to a stop, they drew their swords.

"Praetorian Blade!"

Ken dodged the flying swords without great difficulty. As they tried to block his way, Ken knocked them to the floor.

He wasted precious seconds dealing with the Praetormon. He looked up as the last one fell, to see more Praetormon running along the corridor towards him. He turned to the opposite exit, to see it similarly blocked. He looked now to the way he had come, to see the Chosen running towards him. 

"Ken-chan!" Miyako called. "Why are you doing this?! What's wrong?!"

"Put down the ring, Master Ichijouji," Casimir said brusquely.

"Miyako, I have to go," it was all Ken could do to ignore the pleading in their eyes. "I made this mess and I have to set it right. I can make Magnus listen…"

"YOU CAN'T!" Casimir roared. "You fool! He won't listen to anyone, much less you!"

"Goodbye." Ken turned, and dived through the window. Somehow he stayed airborne, floating in the sky as shards of glass fell all around him. The Chosen could only stare as he flew away.

Ken closed his mind as he soared higher and higher, trying to block out Miyako's pleading cries.

******

Hours later, Miyako lay on her bed, still sobbing.

The Chosen had returned home shortly after Ken's absconding. They had parted company with Casimir in the usually fashion; thanks for the food, promises to meet again, so sorry about what happened. They had fortunately persuaded Ken's parents that he was sleeping over with Daisuke.

Miyako could not think about such petty things. All she could see was that look in Ken's eyes as he left, those words that somehow only she had heard.

_"I love you."_

"Oh Ken" she thought. _"Why did you have to leave like this? Why do you have to do this alone?" _She had not been like this in a long time, not since the day when she discovered that Ken was the Digimon Emperor. But her feelings for him had been nothing more than a crush. But this time, her love was real, and it hurt a thousand times worse. 

As she lay there, she failed to notice Poromon depositing her D-Terminal on the pillow next to her. After a few minutes, she began to wonder what the strange beeping noise was. When she noticed the terminal, she sat up on the bed and opened the terminal, wondering whom the message had come from:

"Hi Imoto-chan!"

Thought I might get you with that. I just thought that since all the American Chosen have disappeared, I might pay you guys a visit! So far only Wallis is left, he's coming too by the way. I'll be arriving in a couple of days. Hugs'n'kisses!

Mimi

PS – I've got a surprise for you all! He's adorable. But you'll just have to wait!"

Miyako could not help but smile at the message. The prospect of having her 'would-be' older sister around brightened her spirits. At least she wouldn't be alone until Ken returned.

And Ken would return! She was acting as though he was dead, but he had just gone away for a while. They could sort out a plan when Mimi and Wallis arrived.

__

"Get a grip girl!"

Now the only problem was what to do about her soaked pillow.

****** 

If Magnus' astral presence had been capable of any kind of facial expression, it would have grinned triumphantly.

The plan was working perfectly. And now Ken was flying into a trap. Magnus forced his mind to concentrate a little harder.

_"That's right. Come to me Ken. You cannot escape from yourself. Soon you will see things differently, and you will also provide invaluable aid to our cause."_

Sami had outdone herself. She had been able to track Ken even as far as the White Lord's Castle. Not only that, but she had infiltrated the base and contacted him mentally at the most opportune moment. She knew what Casimir knew, or at least what he had shared with the Chosen, and now Magnus knew. 

As Ken raced closer, Magnus cast his mind to Sanctum City. He could see Casimir sitting there, brooding over his failures no doubt.

_"Ah Casimir. Would it not have been so much easier to keep our treaty? Now you'll have to face my wrath."_

In his mind's eye he could see Casimir wince and rub his temples. A slight migraine made a good pre-emptive strike under the circumstances. He turned his mind back to Ken. 

_"And now, to plan our little meeting. I know just the place."_

******

(I know this is getting a little dark, but I'll do my best to liven things up. I'm not sure that I got Mimi's speech patterns right, or the Japanese for that matter. Can anyone enlighten me on these problems? Apart from that, please R + R!) 


	12. A hero falls

Disclaimer – I don't own anything other than the characters I've invented + a few concepts. Don't

think about it too much.

(Thanks for danAlwyn for reviewing. Please continue to do so. Thanks to Heath 999 and Ken's Luver for their constant support. Here goes the next bit!) 

Chapter 11

The wind was cold, like an icy sheet over Ken's face. He continued to fly, through the driving wind, in the direction of the Red Ridge Mountains. He was led by instinct and guided by a troubled conscience. 

It felt strangely good to have such power. Originally he could never have dreamed of being able to fly and defeat champion level digimon without breaking a sweat.

Such was the ring's power. It was unlocking the deepest depths of his abilities, his most hidden strengths. 

_"No wonder the Primarchs and the Black Hands serve Magnus so faithfully. I would have gone with him too if he'd offered me this power."_

He could do anything. He now had the power he needed to do what must be done.

_"Magnus, I'm sorry. I've turned you into a monster. But I'll make it better, I can help you… if you let me." _

His hair was slicked back, wet with rain water. Beneath him the land turned from green to a dull red. He had entered the mountain range. 

Out here there were few outposts of civilisation. Those digimon who eked out an existence in the mountains were mostly wild and generally ruthless. Though all but the bravest or most foolhardy avoided Black Spire.

Ken could see it now. Huge, savage, like a hole cut in the sky. And just next to it, rising from the landscape like a baroque needle, was his objective. The place where the ring was leading him. 

Ken slowed to a stop, hovering above the mountains, and checked his watch. 

10:15 Tokyo time.

It was morning. His parents must have been worrying about him.

He pushed the thoughts from his mind. He would sort everything out with his parents later. He hoped his email to the other Chosen had got through.

Then something caught his eye. A black cloak, billowing in the wind, standing on the edge of a small plateau. Ken's enhanced vision made out a human figure, nearly six feet tall. He flew down towards the figure, landing a few feet away from it. He didn't know who it was, but he had a horrible feeling.

"How does it feel, former Emperor? Liberating? I should think so, considering how you've been living these past few months."

"Yeah, it feels…different."

"A surprising confession coming from you. What was it you said to Centurion? You'd rather live your own life and make your own choices than be a slave to your own dark side?"

"Yeah, and I am living my own life. It's me that's doing this, not the Digimon Emperor. I've come to save you Magnus."

"How touching. I suppose you think I'm the sort of weak-willed fool you and your little friends are used to dealing with. And I thought you were supposed to be a genius."

Magnus pulled back his hood, and Ken recoiled.

His face was pale, almost white, the features were sharper, more pronounced. His eyes were glowing red orbs. Combined with him now being six feet tall, he bore little resemblance to the boy Ken had known. 

"Magnus! What have you done to yourself?!"

"Ah, the many benefits of the Dark Water. Though you never could understand, could you? You always thought power lay in the numbers one commands, but I know that power lies within oneself."

"Magnus, you have to stop drinking the Dark Water. It's bad, it's poisoned your soul!" The smile faded from Magnus' thin lips. He began to speak, slowly and deliberately. 

"How can I poison something…that is already dead?"

"No, your soul's not dead. It's alive and you're hurting it. You have to stop denying who you are, you have to let go of your hatred, before it destroys you."

"FOOL! My hatred is all I have left! But not for much longer.

You see, I looked upon the world once, and thought it beautiful. But I looked upon the world the next day, and saw it for what it really was.

The Real World is a world of hatred, bigotry, exploitation and selfishness. I have walked the world and seen only misery. I have tasted of the human spirit, and its taste is the taste of blood.

But no more. I'm going to change the world, you see. With the power of the relic, I shall tear down the towers of avarice! Cave in the labyrinths of iniquity! The corrupt governments of the world shall fall before me, their armies sent to the slaughter!" He flung his arms wide. 

"Nations will tremble! Mountains will shudder! Oceans will boil! 

And when it is over, a better world shall arise from the ashes of the old. The human race shall bask in the light of a new dawn."

It was too much for Ken to take in. Magnus had gone from a faithful servant to a deluded megalomaniac, who might just have the will and power to see his plans through.

"It won't happen Magnus. I won't let it. I don't want to hurt you, but if you don't stop this mad scheme and come with me, then I'll have no alternative.

Please listen to me Magnus. I'm your friend." At that, Magnus loomed, seeming to grow until he was larger than the mountain, his body wreathed in black flames.

"DO NOT INSULT ME WITH YOUR LIES! I AM THE MASTER, THE WORD, THE DARK LORD! I KNOW NO FRIENDS OR LOVERS! THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE!"

Ken staggered backwards, his mind reeling from the mental blow.

The illusion faded, but Magnus was no less terrifying. He was floating in mid-air, his robes billowing around him, his eyes were like twin red stars, his face was twisted into a mask of fury. 

He raised his hand. Ken braced himself, calling on the power of the ring, prepared for the onslaught.

******

Takeru stared at the sight approaching him. 

The Chosen had agreed to meet at the airport to greet Mimi, who was also travelling with a mystery guest. Miyako had been last to turn up, which was excusable in that she liked to take a long time over getting ready.

Now she skipped along, her head in the clouds, chanting over and over again in a singsong voice:

"He loves me! He loves me! He loves me!" She finally came to a halt in front of the Chosen, who were now all staring. 

"He loves me! Oh I was so silly to doubt him!"

"What's going on Miyako?" Hikari gave her an indulgent smile. "Did a certain special someone send a certain special message?"

Miyako twittered, Iori sweat-dropped, Daisuke rolled his eyes. 

"Hey everybody!" The Chosen looked up, and Miyako gave a squeal. 

Mimi, quite resplendent in a blue top and white miniskirt, her hair still dyed pink, appeared at the top of the escalator

"Mimi!"

"Imoto-chan!"

The rest was a series of hugs, kisses and twitters. 

"So Mimi, is this the surprise?" Miyako gestured up at a very large and very hairy man standing behind Mimi. He wore a business suit and was reading a newspaper. Mimi gave an exasperated 'oh' noise.

"Hey! Come out from there! Don't be shy." 

A mop of white hair poked out from behind the 'man'. It had pale blue eyes and an expression of terminally appealing shyness. The rest of him, when it emerged, appeared to be about nine years old, and wearing something excessively fashionable. Evidently Mimi had been unable to resist.* 

"Everybody, I'd like you to meet Luke."

"Hello," Luke smiled nervously, looking as though he wanted to leap behind the man-mountain again. "It's nice…to meet …you all."

"Nice to meet you too," Hikari smiled to reassure him. 

"And this is my partner." The 'man' lowered the newspaper just slightly. The Chosen gasped.

***

"Well how else was I supposed to get him here?" 

"But, a business suit? On Leomon?"

"I think it suits him." Mimi and Miyako had been discussing the virtues of Leomon's disguise all the way back. The large digimon was curled in the back of Sora's cousin's car, being too big to fit in any of the seats. 

Later, they assembled in the park, and the younger Chosen related to the elder Chosen, who had also gathered together, the details of what had transpired over the past few weeks.

"All we really know about the leader is that he's called Magnus and that he used to work for Ken when he was the Digimon Emperor."

"But what about the White Lord?" Taichi spoke up, "we all thought he was just a fairy tale too."

"He's all right. Underneath all that chain mail and fancy language he's a nice guy. Sort of like Dilandau Albatou reversed."

"Then where has he been all this time!" Taichi was furious. "How come we had to do all the fighting and he never lifted a finger to help?!"

"I can defend Casimir on that point," Koushiro spoke up, "and defend him I shall. A simple time and motion study informs me that he could not have gained the allegiance of BlackWarGreymon until very recently. My sources inform me that Gallantmon only joined up a short while before that.

My point is that the White Lord was nowhere near as powerful as he is now. Any attempt to provide assistance would have resulted in the destruction of Sanctum City."

"Koushiro has a point," Yamato spoke up. "A ruler's first responsibility is to his subjects. It wouldn't have helped much if he'd supported us before only to lose everything." Taichi was suddenly crestfallen, imagining the Dark Masters destroying the wondrous white city the younger Chosen had described.

"You're right Yamato. We should be glad he's willing to help us now."

"But what about Ken?" Sora interjected. "Do you really think he can succeed, Miyako?"

"I don't know," Miyako looked very worried. "He seemed so strong back in the Castle, but if Magnus is really as strong as Ken said he was, I don't think it'll be enough."

"Then we have to go and help him!" Daisuke stood up. "No Chosen child fights alone on my watch!"

******

Ken wondered how he was going to get of this alive.

Even with the ring, Magnus' abilities were far beyond his own. Also, Ken was unaccustomed to the enormous power of the ring and his Dark Seed combined. Magnus had been doing this for some time.

Ken flew straight at Magnus, aiming a fist directly at his face. He smashed into an invisible force field and rebounded, small black ripples fanning out into a sphere around Magnus. Magnus raised his hand, palm facing Ken. A solid wall of force hit Ken and knocked him to the ground. 

Magnus suddenly turned his hand, so that his palm faced downwards. Ken slowly lifted off the ground and turned onto his back. As he floated there, Magnus flew closer.

"Did you really think you could beat me Ken?" After pulling the ring from Ken's finger and stowing it in his cloak, he reached inside Ken's coat and his hands touched the one thing Ken would have given anything to keep from him. Magnus pulled it out.

It was a small CD case. Magnus opened it, and inside was a black disc. He smiled demonically. 

"A-ha, the data you tried to hide from me. You really should have destroyed this Ken. Not that it matters. If you had, I would have plucked the data directly from the depths of your memory. At least this way you avoid potential brain damage."

"LET HIM GO!" Magnus looked to see a cadre of digimon and Chosen standing on a ridge above him. They all looked angry.

"The Chosen unite! An impressive display!" He could see them clearly now. There were the five his Black Hands had faced before, but seven more this time. Five boys and two girls. Their digimon were a huge orange dinosaur, a blue and grey streaked wolf as big as a horse, a large orange bird which he recognised as a birdramon, a humanoid cactus wearing boxing gloves, a gigantic blue and grey insect, and what appeared to be a huge white walrus. He could make out Valkyrimon and Vikemon also, along with Stingmon and Exveemon. And also a Leomon.

__

"How was Stingmon able to digivolve? Perhaps Ken's crest power could affect him even from a distance."

"So you're Magnus," said the boy with the oversized hair. "Somehow, I expected more." Magnus knew it was said to irk him, but he could sense their unease. 

"I was once called Magnus, but my followers call me the Master. And yes, it is I who has engineered this situation. Impressive is it not?"

"It's over," the blond one spoke up. "Surrender and come with us now, or get the beating of your life."

"Why don't I make a counter offer?" Magnus replied. "Leave this place and do not oppose me again, and I will spare your digimon. Refuse and you condemn them to a spell in the Primary village for nothing."

"You're an idiot if you think we'd trust your benevolence!" the red haired girl yelled. "We'll never back down, and there's no way you can win. So give up!"

"How unfortunate that you feel that way."

Magnus knew this would not be easy. The nine champions were little threat, but two megas were not to be sneezed at. Some assistance was probably necessary.

_"Centurion, Beelzemon, come to me."_

Hikari frowned as she suddenly heard a whispering in her head. Concentrating hard, she listened.

"Look out everyone! He's calling in the cavalry!" Magnus looked up at her, snarled, and pointed his fingers at her. Black tendrils of pure hate burst from his fingertips…

…and vanished a metre in front of her. 

_"It appears I have underestimated her psychic talent, but she is no real threat."_

"Wow Hikari, that was cool!" Daisuke was openly impressed. "How did you do it?"

"Her abilities are linked to her crest power," Koushiro explained, "light and darkness cancel each-other out."

"Okay," Taichi swung into Leader mode, "Valkyrimon and Vikemon attack Magnus, Stingmon and Birdramon go and get Ken. The rest of you attack Magnus too!"

The digimon swung into action. Magnus leapt into the air, his body once more wreathed in black flames. The digimon came straight at him, hoping to knock him out with physical attacks. Magnus crossed his arms in front of his chest, then swung them down and outward. A vertical pillar of black lightning burst from his arms as they split. It shot forward, hitting Valkyrimon and knocking him to the ground. Kabuterimon was knocked sideways by the slipstream. 

Greymon, Garurumon, Leomon, Togemon, Ikkakumon, Exveemon and Vikemon rushed him:

"Nova Blast!"

"Howling Blaster!"

"Fist of the Beast King!"

"Needle Spray!"

"Harpoon torpedo!"

"XV Laser!"

"Arctic Blizzard!"

The attacks slammed into a point, and vanished to reveal Magnus hovering there, a semi-translucent blue sphere surrounding him. The Chosen gasped.

Magnus raised one hand, and let loose a force wave. The digimon were flung backwards under the onslaught, only Vikemon and Valkyrimon able to remain standing. 

"Aurvandil's Arrow!"

"Arctic Blizzard!" 

Magnus dodged both attacks and struck Vikemon square in the chest. Vikemon fell backwards with a groan, but Valkyrimon had an opportunity.

"Fenrir Sword!"

Magnus was smashed to the ground. The Chosen cheered. As he tried to rise, Valkyrimon stooped to pick him up.

"Double Impact!"

Valkyrimon was knocked to the ground, his chest armour smoking where the shells had struck. The Chosen looked up to the source of the attack. 

Beelzemon stood further up the mountain, looking down on the Chosen with an expression of undisguised contempt. 

"What? More rats? Girl-rats too. I can't wait to hear you scream."

"You again?" Valkyrimon rose. "I never got a chance to beat you before, but now I will."

"Oh yeah, well take this! Double Impact!" 

Valkyrimon dodged and leapt at Beelzemon, sword drawn.

"Fenrir's sword!" 

Beelzemon dodged, and dodged again, and again, and again. Valkyrimon swung in cleaving strokes, and Beelzemon leapt gracefully away from each one.

Valkyrimon was approximately equal to Beelzemon, but was unused to his enormous power. Beelzemon, on the other hand, had been a mega-level digimon for much longer, and knew instinctively how to fight. 

Cursing, Valkyrimon swung one last time. Beelzemon somersaulted and came down on top of him.

"Darkness Claw!" 

Valkyrimon was flung down, bouncing off rock outcroppings until he landed on the plateau and lay still, leaving a crater bigger than himself. 

Miyako, cradling Ken in her arms, and Hikari could only stare in horror as Valkyrimon plummeted down. 

"Oh no! Valkyrimon!"

"What do we do? They're both so powerful." 

There was a coughing sound, and Ken's eyes fluttered open. Miyako held him tighter.

"Oh Ken, are you all right?"

"I'm okay, just a little beat up that's all." Daisuke came running up.

"Ken! You're awake. I'm sorry buddy but we need your help!"  
"No problem!"

Down on the plateau, Magnus, and Centurion who had just arrived, could only watch as Exveemon and Stingmon leapt into the air, fused into a ball of light, and emerged as a blue and red behemoth.

The other champion level digimon tried one last charge, but Magnus met it with a two-handed force wave. They crashed into the rock face, lay there for a moment, and then de-digivolved, their partners rushing to comfort them. 

Imperialdramon, in his fighter mode, flew straight at Beelzemon, who was grappling with Vikemon. 

"BEELZEMON LOOK OUT!" Centurion screamed as Imperialdramon came closer, but it was too late. Beelzemon looked up in horror as Vikemon jumped away at the last minute. 

"Positron Laser!"

The beam hit Beelzemon square in the chest. He fell, shedding data in trail. Centurion ran to him.

When the data was gone, only Impmon remained. He fell, battered and bruised, into Centurion's arms. 

"Impmon, no! Hold on!"

"Logan…I'm sorry…I've failed you…

"Hold on please!"

"I've failed Magnus…I let those girls beat us…I'm so sorry."

"No! IMPMON!" There was a flash of light, blinding Chosen and digimon alike. 

And when the light was gone, Centurion looked up, and gasped.

Beelzemon stood, tall and proud, four black wings unfolding from his back, his right arm replaced by a huge gun. 

"Beelzemon? How!?"

"It was you Logan. You saved me with your energy. You weren't afraid to show that you cared about me. Your energy made me stronger. I am Beelzemon, Blast Mode!"

The Chosen stared in horror as Beelzemon lifted into the air and flew towards them. He stopped a short distance away.

"How did you do that?" Miyako was incredulous. "I thought you could only Dark digivolve!"

"Show's how much you know, YOU USELESS BROAD!" 

"What's wrong with you!?" now it was Sora's turn. "Why do you hate girls so much!?"

"Because he does, that's why. I know how he feels, I know what they did to him!"

"How?"

"I shared my heart with him." The digimon gasped. There were tears running down Beelzemon's face.

"Yeah, I did, to save his life! I share his strength, and his pain! I hear their laughter in my sleep, I feel the blows, I remember it all as though it was me getting hurt!

And now I'm going to avenge him! YOU'LL PAY FOR WHAT YOU DID TO MY FRIEND! CHAOS FLARE!" 

The Chosen scattered as the blast came. Ken, standing now, looked and saw Miyako standing motionless, frozen by fear.

"MIYAKO!" he ran to her and pushed her away as the blast landed.

Though it never connected, the force of the explosion was enough to fling Ken away. He bounced, rolled, and came to a stop, his suit torn, his face paling. Miyako looked up, and ran to him. 

"KEN! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

She fell to her knees beside him, felt his pulse, felt for breathing.

But there was no breath. His face was almost white and his eyes were glazed.

As Vikemon rushed to attack, Beelzemon turned and let off another Chaos Flare at point blank range. Vikemon fell back, groaning in pain, and dedigivolved. Beelzemon was screaming, his eyes clenched shut, tears running down his face, wanting to destroy all womankind and anyone who stood with them. 

Daisuke stood there, frozen to the spot, staring at his friend.

"Ken?"

There was no response, no sound other than Beelzemon screaming and Miyako's sobs. 

"Imperialdramon! Down here!" Taichi called. He ran over to Daisuke and took him by the shoulders.

"Daisuke, we have to leave now!"

"Ken…"

"We've lost! We have to retreat now!" 

"NEVER!" Takeru was enraged. "NO SURRENDER! NO RETREAT!" Yamato rushed over and smacked him on the jaw.

"This is no time for futile heroics! It'll do no good!" Takeru stood up, nodded, and rushed to pick up Patamon, who had fortunately landed nearby. Daisuke knelt down, his face streaked with tears, and picked up Ken's body, running with it to Imperialdramon. Mimi and Sora had to carry the frozen Miyako.

As Imperialdramon flew away, Beelzemon reluctantly flew down to land next to Centurion and the Master.

"Is he…" Centurion asked tentatively.

"I fear so" replied the Master. 

(Oh dear! This looks bad. The only way to find out what'll happen is to keep reading! Shall I increase to PG? If you've seen 'Akira' or any of the 'Tenchi' series', you'll know what the battle sequences with Magnus will look like. By the way:

* I'll leave this to your imagination. 

Until next time, please R+R!)


	13. Oh glorious day!

Disclaimer- Usual twaddle I don't own digimon etc.

(Sorry if I offended or upset anyone. This will be resolved soon. Apologies in particular to Silver Angel.)

Chapter 13

The Chosen fled to Sanctum City, demoralised by their defeat and grief-stricken at the death of Ken. 

They had been permitted to lay Ken's body in the Castle's inner Chapel. It was a multi-faith Chapel, and as such contained no particular religious iconography. There was only a dais at the front, where Ken's body lay, on a stone plinth, covered in a white pall, but leaving his head visible. On either side were clusters of candles, one lit by each of the mourners. 

Even in death, Ken looked serene, as though his end had been as light as the brushing of an angel's wing. It was not so easy for the others.

The Chosen sat, either alone or in pairs, some weeping, some silent. The White Lord stood in the aisle, flanked by Ryo and Alicia. The digimon were in a tearful group hug.

Sora was crying into Yamato's shoulder, while he whispered in her ear. Takeru was trying to comfort Hikari, who was equally distraught. Jyou and Mimi were off to one side. Miyako sat hugging Iori, staring at the body of her soulmate.

_"Ken-chan, why?"_

Daisuke was quivering with rage, his hands clenched into fists. Taichi looked up from his quiet conversation with Koushiro and went over to him.

"Daisuke…"

"They won't get away with this."

"I know."

"Magnus, and his minions, this is their fault! When I get my hands on them I'll…"

"Daisuke!" Taichi grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him. "This is isn't the time or the place!" He could see the hurt in Daisuke's eyes.

"He was my best friend," Daisuke croaked, "the only one who never put me down. He made me feel like I was worth something."

"We all feel the same way," Takeru looked up. "Ken was truly different."

"A rare person indeed," Casimir put in.

"What will we tell his parents?" Hikari finally spoke. "How can we tell them he's dead?"

"We'll tell them the truth!" Daisuke spoke up, his old fire returning. "Anything else would be an insult to his memory." Casimir walked up and put a hand on his shoulder.

"You are true friend of his, Motomiya Daisuke. A better friend than I."

As the night dragged on, the Chosen drifted away one by one. Koushiro and Iori left first, then Takeru and Hikari. Yamato left next, with Sora leaning on him for support. Jyou and Mimi left, after Mimi had given Miyako one last hug. Taichi left, and then Daisuke. The digimon trailed off with their partners. 

Until only Miyako was left. Far into the night she kept a lonely vigil, Hawkmon's head resting on her lap. He didn't want to leave her alone after all. Eventually, her tiredness began to take its toll, until finally, Ken's face in her mind, she fell asleep.

***

When Miyako awoke, she found herself lying on a bed with her shoes off and a cover thrown over. Someone had been considerate enough not to let her torture her back by sleeping in the Chapel.

But she didn't feel like sleeping. She had to see Ken. She got up, pulled on a pair of slippers and a fluffy pink dressing gown, and walked to the Chapel. 

After a while she had reached the door to the Chapel. She was about to enter when she saw something standing before the plinth.

She stopped and hid behind the door, senses alert, wondering what it was. 

She hazarded another peek, and her mouth dropped open.

A black-robed figure was standing before the plinth on which Ken's body lay, arms stretched out over Ken's chest. 

Slowly, silently, fearing her breathing would expose her, Miyako slipped around the door and hid behind the back pew. She moved down the left aisle trying to get a better view of what the figure was doing. She could see through the huge stained-glass windows that it was almost dawn. 

But she had a pretty good idea of who it was and what he was doing.

"YOU!" she screamed. She sprinted from her hiding place and knocked the figure to the ground before he could react. They slid and knocked over one of the tall candlesticks. 

"HOW DARE YOU DO THIS! ISN'T IT ENOUGH THAT HE'S DEAD!? WHAT CAN'T YOU LEAVE HIM ALONE!?"

"No!" the figure's voice was hoarse with desperation. "You'll ruin everything!"

He wrestled her off and flung her away. She crashed into the front pew and lay there, not quite able to move, as the figure darted back to the dais. As shouts and clatters of fast footsteps came near, he raised his arms high and intoned something in a language Miyako had never heard.

The sun broke over the horizon. The door crashed open.

The Chapel was filled with blinding white light. As it faded, Miyako looked at the plinth, at the way Ken's body was wreathed in the eerie luminescence. It went on for what seemed like an eternity. 

Then the light faded, replaced by the multicolour glow of the morning sun, shining through the stained glass windows. Miyako stared. 

Ken's eyes opened. He drew breath with a gasp. He sat straight up, the pall falling onto his knees, gasping for breath. 

Miyako stared, even as the colour returned to Ken's face. Behind her, the Chosen of Japan and their digimon gazed in wonder at the sight before them.

Could it be real? Could their friend have really returned?

Ken blinked, and then looked at the Chosen. They looked rather funny standing there in pyjamas and nightdresses, looking at him as though he had risen from the dead. 

"Guys? What's happening? Why am I on this plinth? What's with these candles?" Then Ken put all this together, replayed his memories, and realised that in fact he _had_ risen from the dead.

He looked down and noticed Miyako, who was staring at him with tearful eyes.

"Ken? Is it…Is it really you?"

"Well, I think so."

"KEN-CHAN!" She leapt up and threw her arms around Ken's neck. He pulled her close until their lips were together in a soft, sweet kiss. Even when it was over, she hugged him tight, as though to let go was to lose him again. The others ran up to touch him, to share in the radiance of their joy. Wormmon leapt into Ken's lap to be hugged too. 

"What's going on? An occult pyjama party?" Casimir came bustling through the door, wearing a fancy white cloak, and then stopped when he saw Ken.

"What!" he spluttered, unable to believe what he was seeing. "How can this be?"

"I don't know," Daisuke was equally confused. "It's a miracle."

Then he noticed the cloaked figure sidling towards the side door.

"Oh no you don't!" Daisuke grabbed at the retreating figure and pulled his hood away. They all gasped.

"MAGNUS!" 

Magnus pulled himself up tall.

"Yes, it is I. And it was I who resurrected Ken." The Chosen stared, unable to believe what had just happened.

"HOW?" they screamed in unison. 

"It is not so difficult as you might imagine. I drank of your love and grief and used the positive energy to heal his body and bring forth his spirit. Hence, his resurrection. It is fortunate that I was able to defeat you, Inoue Miyako, or else your lover might not be here now.

And now if you'll excuse me," he turned to leave.

"No, wait," Hikari held out a hand to stop him. "If you're supposed to be our enemy, why did you bring Ken back?" Magnus stopped, and turned to face them, his cloak swishing. 

"Partially to prove that I can, but also for a more practical reason. Ken was not meant to die yesterday, his destiny goes beyond any of this. I did it to set things straight." He turned to Casimir.

"In honour of this joyous occasion, I will reiterate my former offer. Cease your interference in my affairs and I will let you and your partners live. Oppose me, and I will not be held responsible for anything that happens."

"You're right, this is a great day," Yamato spoke up, "so we'll make you an offer. Stop this madness and come with us. For all your bluster you're not really evil, so why pretend?"

"Yeah," Sora spoke up too. "No one who would do something so good could be evil."  
"Casimir told us everything," Daisuke added. Magnus showed no emotion, but his eyebrow twitched. "You can't deal with your pain by messing around with the Powers of Darkness."

"He's right," Ken pulled away from Miyako and walked towards Magnus, holding out a hand. "What your parents did to you was terrible, but we can help." Magnus snarled and slapped the hand away. When Ken tried to move closer Magnus stretched out his arm, his spread hand at Ken's chest.

"Do not force me to harm you again Ken." He stepped away and pointed his right hand at the wall. A black portal appeared in the wall. As Magnus stepped up to it, he looked almost forlorn.

"I wish no more bloodshed. You've heard my final warning. Farewell Chosen children, and… thank-you." He stepped through the portal.

"Oh, and Casimir, your pyjamas are quite fetching."

There was a moan from the corridor as the portal vanished. Luke appeared in the doorway, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. 

"What is it? What's going on?" 

Then he and the Chosen realised that Casimir was wearing Batman pyjamas.

********

The Master stepped through the portal and into the gate chamber. Centurion ran forward and knelt as he approached.

"Excellency! Did it work?"

"Yes, it did. What news from Conrad?"

"Conrad reports that he has the disc decoded and is underway Excellency."

"Good. Our campaign is finally on course." The Master smiled triumphantly. 

"Sami reports that she has found a likely candidate. Do you wish to inspect the report?"

"At once." 

********

Dawn is an unusual time to have a party, but none of the Chosen felt like sleeping and Ken's return was most definitely cause for a celebration.

Ken had been hugged by all the Chosen, including Yamato, and had been kissed by all the girls, including Palmon, Biyomon and Gatomon. They all stood or sat around on the balcony, enjoying the morning warmth and the food that had been hurriedly provided. There was even music, though no one knew where it was coming from. 

As V-mon and Gatomon waltzed along the parapet, Miyako and Ken sat together.

"So what's it like being dead?" 

"I don't really know. It was like being asleep." Miyako was quiet for a moment, and then looked into Ken's eyes.

"Oh Ken-chan, I thought I'd lost you." 

"You'll never lose me Miyako. Even in death, I'll be watching over you." Ken gave her a serious look, trying to hide the turmoil inside.

"I can't live without you Ken-chan. You know that, right?"

"And without you, life is meaningless to me."

"Fresh!" Miyako slapped him playfully, then grabbed him by the collar and pulled him close. As they kissed again, Miyako felt the world fall away, until it was just her and Ken, joined together in a bond of love, unbreakable, undeniable, now and forever. 

Off to one side, Sora and Yamato smiled as they watched the two lovebirds. Then Hikari came up to them.

"Sora, can I talk to you? In private?"

***

Once they had found a quiet corridor, Sora stood in front of Hikari.

"Now, what did you want to talk to me about."

"Well, its just that I've always thought of you as my big sister, and…"

"Go on."

"There's this boy, called Chimofu, and I want to get to know him better, but he always avoids me."

"Really?"

"He's kinda cute, but really withdrawn. He hasn't made any friends since he came to Odaiba, and he told me that to him friendships weren't worth making because they'd have to be broken some day. When I found out that he's an orphan…"

"An orphan?"

"Yeah. When I found out, I got him to meet me and I tried to make him open up to me, but he told me to forget about him," she snuffled, " and then he ran away. He's been avoiding me ever since. I really, really care about him, but I don't know what to do." Sora gave her a sympathetic look.

"Well, what is it that you like about him?"

"It's a lot of things really. He's really well spoken, and sometimes he's really funny. Apart from that, he just seems so lonely and vulnerable. I guess I've a soft spot for stray puppies."

"Vulnerable? In what way?"

"He got picked on a lot back where he used to live. They used to invite him to parties and then either deny it or do something awful to him for fun and other stuff like that."

"Does he get picked on in Odaiba?"

"Not really. The other kids mostly leave him alone. But when he asked me if I was making fun of him for being an orphan, I could see the hurt in his eyes. He hides his feelings most of the time."

"But what do you really want from him?"

"I want him to know that I care. I want to let him know that he doesn't have to hide his feelings any more." Her voice was strained with emotion. Sora took her by the shoulders and looked her in the eyes."

"You love him, don't you." It was a statement, not a question.

"I think so, but I don't know what to do."

"Be there for him. Not too close but somewhere where he knows he can find you. There'll come a time when he'll need a friend. And if you're there waiting for him, he'll never forget you for it."

Hikari seemed to cheer up a little.

"Thank-you Sora."

"Anything for my Imoto-chan!"

(I rushed this off to stop you from killing me. Those psychic blasts are giving me a migraine! Is this better? Please forgive me for upsetting you all. Please review!) 


	14. Almost a tragedy

Disclaimer – I don't own digimon or any other trademarks. How often do I have to do this?

(Thank you all for your regular reviewing. I understand what Ken's Luver means, but you'll soon see my point. I really don't know how long this story is going to get.)

Chapter 14

Ken sat on the end of the bed, wondering if he could ever make sense of what had happened. 

The Chosen had decided to convalesce with the White Lord for a while. They were drained by their recent defeat and by the death and resurrection of Ken. 

But Ken could not rest. He could not drag his mind away from one particular thought.

_"I was dead."_

As the rather spontaneous party was drawing to a finish, it had finally begun to sink in that Ken had been dead for ten hours. In the real world it had been less than a second, as time passes much faster in the digital world. But nevertheless it had seemed like an eternity to them all.

Ken could remember nothing of the experience. All he could remember was that rush of fear as he saw Beelzemon's Chaos Flare coming straight at Miyako, the burning in his lungs as he ran to her, the warmth of her body as he pushed her out of danger, the heat of the blast.

Then nothing. It was as though he had been knocked out.

He had not been hit by the blast itself, merely the slipstream. Yet it had been enough to crush him between itself and his body's own inertia. 

Even thinking analytically like this could not get the terrible thought out of his head. And with it came more thoughts. Was this really him? Was he the real Ichijouji Ken? Or just some revenant in his shape and with his memories and emotions.

Did it really matter that much? He felt like it did. If he was just a copy, then what would happen if the real Ken were to return? What about Wormmon and Miyako? Did he have any right to call himself Wormmon's partner? Did he deserve to be with Miyako? 

_"This is Ken's body, my body, but is this my real soul? Am I me?"_

He felt very cold all of a sudden. He felt as though clawed hands would rise from the floor and drag him back into the spirit realm from whence he had come.

He wanted to be with Miyako. He missed the warmth of her hugs, the tingle of her kisses, the contentment he felt when he was with her. He wanted her arms around him. Perhaps if he talked to her about it, things would make more sense.

_"But I'm not the real Ken. I don't deserve her. Miyako was Ken's girlfriend, not mine."_

A terrible sinking feeling came from within, as he realised that he could never be with her. He was just a revenant, an undead. 

Had Magnus resurrected him to torture him? To watch from afar and laugh while Ken the revenant tried to reintegrate himself into the world he had just recently left?

And that wasn't even the worst part. It would hurt him deeply to live without Miyako, but there was another problem. 

When he'd passed on, there had been nothing there. At least nothing that he could remember. Was that his ultimate fate? To live denied the one he undeniably loved was bad enough, but for death to be the end?

No afterlife, no reincarnation.

Annihilation. An end to everything he was. 

What was the point in coming back? 

As he sank into the depths of despair, he realised that there was only one solution. 

*** 

"This place is amazing!" Miyako, Mimi, Iori, Jyou and Koushiro had decided to explore the city while the others were sparring. 

The buildings of the inner city were magnificent, but one is easily numbed to the beauty of white marble columns and statues if they appear too often. As the day was drawing on, they were examining the outer urban area. There was a carnival atmosphere, thronged with digimon buying, selling, or just messing about.

"They all seem so happy and content," Mimi remarked. "It's like nowhere else in the digital world." It was truly unique. The digimon seemed to have no worries other than the petty matters of everyday life. There were many places in the digital world where digimon fought for their loves on a daily basis. What a contrast to this serene place.

"We'd better get back soon," Jyou spoke up, "or else we might miss lunch."

"I guess you're right," Miyako replied, rather reluctantly. Poromon and Palmon came running up to them, jumping into their partner's arms.

"Did you find anything out from the other digimon?" Miyako asked Poromon as they walked back to the castle.

"Most of them came here in the Digimon Emperor's time. This place kinda grew on them. The White Lord keeps them safe and there's always plenty of food."

"_This place will grow on me too if I'm not careful," _Miyako thought.

***

WarGreymon hooked viciously to the right. Gallantmon barely dodged it. WarGreymon attacked again and again, while Gallantmon was occasionally able to dodge his attacks, some got through with bruising force. 

Gallantmon grabbed WarGreymon's left hand with his right, then blocked with his shield. They were stuck grappling for a few seconds, until WarGreymon remembered through the haze of testosterone that he had a knee in reserve.

"That…wasn't…chivalrous," Gallantmon moaned as he fell to his knees, clutching his groin. 

They were in the main courtyard of the castle. Agumon, Gabumon and Veemon had decided that a little sparring would take their minds of things, and so they had challenged Gallantmon and BlackWarGreymon. BlackWarGreymon had backed out, not wishing to fight, but Gallantmon had graciously accepted. 

Off to one side, Exveemon was sparring with one of the Praetormon, while the others stood jeering, hooting and catcalling. MetalGarurumon was sitting with a towel around the closest approximation to his shoulders, pouring water on a brazier full of hot coals. Cyberdramon sat with him, also wearing a towel. BlackWarGreymon stood at the other end of the courtyard, deep in thought. 

"That was fun!" WarGreymon looked up at his 'cousin'. "Hey Blackie! Why don't you come and join us?"

"Blackie?" BlackWarGreymon did not seem impressed with his nickname. "And besides, I don't fight unless I have too. It is a waste of energy. And I still don't think it was wise of you to warp-digivolve just to spar. You may need to do so again later, when the inevitable confrontation comes."

"And we have to be ready for that," Taichi agreed. "So we're doing a little friendly training. Come on Blackie! Don't be a wet blanket!"

"This isn't like you," WarGreymon was more serious, "you've changed since I last saw you." Agumon had been inordinately happy to see his 'cousin' again, but still he was surprised by the taciturn warrior's change in attitude. Previously BlackWarGreymon had lived to fight, bent on destroying everything just to engineer the battle of his life. 

_"Perhaps that meeting with Quinlongmon really changed him. Maybe he really doesn't like fighting any more. Come to think of it, did he really 'like' it in the first place?"_

"I will not." BlackWarGreymon turned and stalked off. 

"Wow, somebody woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning," Daisuke remarked as WarGreymon ran after his 'cousin'. 

"I don't get it either," Taichi replied, watching them go, "BlackWarGreymon has really changed. He doesn't seem himself anymore." 

"Maybe it's for the best," Yamato had come up also. "I mean, would we prefer him the old way?"

"Definitely not!" Daisuke and Taichi retorted in unison. Daisuke then looked down to see Wormmon tugging at his sock. 

"Uh, Daisuke? Can you do me a favour?"

"Sure."

"Could you talk to Ken? He's very upset and I can't get through to him."

"Ken? No problem!" Daisuke rushed off towards the main door, calling at ExVeemon to enjoy himself, followed closely by Wormmon. 

*** 

Hikari and Takeru, along with Gatomon and Patamon, had decided to explore the castle. After some twisting and turning, they had become utterly lost, wandering finally into a wide corridor. It was pitch black, broken only by the flaming torch Takeru was carrying. 

"Any idea where we are?" Hikari was as mystified as Takeru was. 

"Lost," Patamon replied. And it was a fair point. 

"Strange smell in here," Gatomon remarked. "Smells like Daisuke's last art class." 

"Yeah," Takeru chortled. "Paint everywhere!"

"Paint?" Hikari cocked an eyebrow. "How can you smell paint Gatomon?"

"I don't know, it's very faint but it's all around us." Gatomon walked towards the nearer wall, sniffing the air. "Hey! It's coming from this wall." Takeru held the torch closer to the wall.

He could see painted images. They appeared to be digimon, some he had never seen before. They seemed to be charging towards a point further along the wall. 

"Do you what this is?" Hikari had never seen anything like it. 

"No, never," Takeru headed towards the doorway and began to examine the posts and lintel. He eventually came to an empty alcove in the right post. Takeru held the torch close to see what was inside. 

He jumped back to avoid a burst of flame from the alcove. All along the corridor flame burst from similar alcoves, set at equal distances along the walls. In an instant the corridor was illuminated. 

And the foursome realised that they were not in a corridor, but a tomb. 

The walls were covered in a huge mural, stretching from the door, around the walls and to the back wall, which held the main scene. At the foot of the back wall was a stone plinth on which sat a long glass box. Under the glass lay a boy of about eighteen, swathed in white robes not unlike those worn by Casimir. He held an ornate sword over his chest, the blade pointing to his feet. The armour was polished to a silvery sheen; the surcoat held the symbol of a cross and saltire. 

Had his face not been white, they would have thought he was merely sleeping.

Takeru was overcome with confusion and not a little fear. He felt as though he should not be there. He had never seen a body laid out like that, but something told him that walking in like this wasn't correct.

"Gomen-nasai, dear fallen," Hikari bowed deeply. "Please forgive our intrusion."

"I don't think he'll mind," came a voice from behind them. She gasped and spun around to see Casimir standing in the doorway. Fortunately he did not seem offended. 

"Uh…Casimir…" Takeru had gone red with embarrassment. "We were just…"

"Don't worry about it." Casimir moved closer, and stared wistfully at the body. 

"My predecessor," he explained. "The first White Lord."

"What happened to him? What does this mural mean?" Hikari gestured at the painted walls. Casimir walked over to the left of the door and began to move around the wall.

"Many years ago, the digital world was watched over by the three Holy digimon; Quinlongmon, Elohimon, and Cherubimon. Quinlongmon was the weaker, but could make the weakest of digimon unconquerable. Elohimon was the mightiest, created to defend the digital world from evil. Cherubimon was the youngest, created as a companion to Elohimon. 

After centuries of peace and harmony, Cherubimon grew tired of living in Elohimon's shadow, becoming corrupted by the temptations of power. He rebelled against his fellows, consorted with the most evil of digimon, and with the assistance of his lieutenant, the Undead King, he took control of the digital world and drowned it in evil. 

The other two Holy digimon sought to take back the digital world, but had not the strength to win, for Cherubimon had drawn the powers of darkness to himself and trapped them within the Relic, which took the shape of a bracelet that he wore on his wrist. Directly linked to the powers of darkness, and with the Undead King and his minions to support him, he was nigh on unstoppable.

The Holy digimon, realising that all was lost if they did not act, looked to the Human World for help. Though Cherubimon had scorned human beings as weak and useless, Quinlongmon had seen the power of human virtue. He brought eight special children to the digital world, paired them with digimon worthy to accept the gift of digivolution and crafted the digivices and crests by which the children would grant this gift. Thus the first Chosen Children came to be.

But after many battles and adventures, there was dissent in the ranks of the Chosen. One of them believed that the way to attain victory was to draw upon the strength and resources of the digital world itself. He believed that the Chosen could defeat the Warlords of evil by making themselves Kings. 

This idea was vociferously rejected by the other Chosen, who saw their duty as being to protect the digital world, not to rule or exploit it even in the name of good. They asked their comrade to abandon his plan and return to them, but he refused. He came to this place, built both Sanctum City and this Castle…

…and he became the White Lord. 

The other Chosen were grief stricken by the loss of their comrade, but fought on regardless. Eventually they defeated the Undead King's minions and faced himself and Cherubimon at Black Spire, a tall black mountain on which Cherubimon sat as ruler of the digital world."

Casimir moved to the back wall, and gestured at the battle scene centred, as he had said, around a huge black mountain."

"As the Chosen attacked, they were joined by Quinlongmon and Elohimon, as well as the White Lord and an army of mighty digimon. As Elohimon and Cherubimon battled in the skies, the others fought the Undead King. 

As the minions of evil were beaten back, the Chosen realised that they had not the power to defeat the Undead King, for he was a digimon of the mega level, and mighty even then. 

Then when all seemed lost, a shining light came upon the digimon of the Chosen and they digivolved to mega level, granted by a miracle the power to be victorious. 

The Undead King was defeated and the Chosen were jubilant, until they realised where the power had come from. 

The White Lord, seeing the carnage of the battle, had used the Golden digivice to draw in the data of the dead and dying digimon and convert it into pure power. The Chosen were horrified that their victory had come by such means, though the White Lord defended his actions as a terrible necessity. The Chosen, believing their comrade lost to them, cursed him and returned home."

Hikari and Takeru were awe-struck by the tale. 

"So what happened to the Holy digimon?"

"Elohimon and Cherubimon both died, exhausted by their battle. The Relic was placed under a great dome known as the Eye of Nightmares, which only the Dark Champion may open."

"Who is the Dark Champion?"

"No-one knows. He is neither digimon nor human, but somewhere in between. He is strong enough that the mightiest digimon cannot defeat him. He is the greatest threat to the digital world that ever has been or ever will again, and he is what Magnus seeks."

Takeru was horrified. "Why would any sane person let him loose?"

"Because only the Dark Champion can open the Eye, and when Magnus has the Relic not even the Dark Champion will be able to stop him."

"That's what he meant," Hikari seemed diminished, the weight of terrible knowledge heavy on her shoulders. "That's why he asked us to stay out of his way, so he wouldn't have to hurt us in order to get it."

"He'll have to do more than hurt us if he wants the Relic!" Takeru was angry now, knowing what was at stake. "We have to stop this madness once and for all!"

"Hikari! Takeru!" They could hear Daisuke's voice coming from down the corridor. They all ran down the corridor to where Daisuke was puffing and panting at the bottom of the stairs.

"Have you guys…seen…Ken anywhere?"

"No, we haven't seen him since the party," Hikari was suddenly worried. 

"Oh no! Come on!" Takeru grabbed her arm and pulled her up the stairs, the others running after. 

***

Miyako ran up the spiral staircase, her heart pounding.

__

"I know I shouldn't have just left him! I hope he's okay." When she had arrived back at the castle, she had gone to Ken's room, with the aim of inviting him to share a romantic lunch wit her. She'd found his room empty. She'd been running around the castle trying to find him for the last fifteen minutes.

She came to the top of the staircase…

…and froze at the top.

Ken stood on the parapet, the wind blowing his hair, his face turned towards the lake. 

"Ken-chan! What are you doing?! Come down!"

"Stay where you are Miyako. This is in everyone's best interests." Ken sounded more forlorn than ever.

"Ken what's wrong? Why are you up there?!" she gasped. "You're not going to…!"

"I shouldn't be here Miyako. This is all wrong. Ichijouji Ken is dead. I'm just…a copy."

"Ken what are you talking about?!" There was real fear in her voice.

"There are only two ways this could have happened. Either Ken's spirit is in the afterlife, and I'm just a copy, or there is no afterlife."

"What are you saying?"

"I saw nothing Miyako, nothing at all. There is no afterlife, no heaven, and no hell, just oblivion. Magnus knows that, and that's why he brought me back. He hates me Miyako, hates me for using him, and now he's torturing me.

"That's not true! Ken-chan I…"

"You can't love two Ichijouji Kens! The real one is gone, and you deserve better than a copy. I would prefer oblivion to living without you." Miyako took a deep breath. She knew there would be only one chance to bring her suicidal boyfriend back from the brink.

"Ken-chan, do you love me?"

"Of course I do, with all my heart!"

"Then you _are_ the real Ken. I love _you_ and you love me. That's all that matters!"

"But, what's the point anyway? When we're gone, we're just gone. No redemption, no reunion. What's the point in living?!"

Miyako suddenly realised the depth of Ken's pain. He had seemingly found an answer to humanity's biggest unanswered question, and the answer had dashed his hopes.

"You wanted...to see Osamu again. Didn't you." It was a statement, not a question.

"I wanted to say sorry. I wanted to let him know how I feel. I thought everything would be fine and then someday we'd be together again. But that won't happen Miyako, and I can't see the point in living any more."

"You don't know that," Miyako didn't know where the words were coming from, but didn't rock the boat either. "Remember what Magnus said. He said you weren't supposed to die yet. That's why you didn't see an afterlife, because you're not due there yet!"

For a moment, a long and terrible moment, Ken just stood there. Miyako moved closer, step by step, tentatively reaching out her hand. Ken turned to face her, his face streaked with tears.

"Miyako?"

"Ken-chan, come with me." He paused, then hung his head, and stepped down from the parapet. Miyako wrapped her arms around him and Ken hugged her back. Ken looked into Miyako's chocolate eyes, and saw them glisten with tears.

"Oh Miyako-chan, don't cry. Please don't cry. I can't stand it when you cry."

"Oh Ken-chan, I thought I was going to loose you again." Ken brought his right hand up and gently wiped her tears away. 

"I've been so stupid Miyako-chan. I'm sorry for scaring you."

"I forgive you. I need you Ken, I can't live without you."

"Without you, my life would have no meaning."

"Oh Ken…"

"Miyako…"

They pressed their lips together, into a kiss they'd thought they'd never taste again. 

"KEN!" They broke the kiss to see Daisuke and the other Chosen standing at the top of the staircase, all of them looking rather puffed. 

"Ken? But…but I thought…" There was a chorus of "awww!" noises from the female spectators, then attention returned to Daisuke.

"Daisuke," Yamato said, slowly and deliberately. "You had us running around the castle in a complete panic just to see this?"

"But I…! But he was gonna…!" Daisuke ran for it as the other Chosen lunged at him. They proceeded to chase him around the rooftop. Casimir, Ryo, Alicia and Iori stood in the middle with the digimon, watching the entertainment. 

"Miyako?" Ken said, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "Want some excitement?" Before she could respond, Ken put his arms around her waist and lifted her up, spinning around and around. She squealed and shrieked with delight, and Ken laughed. Iori watched the whole display in mounting disbelief. 

"What is it about this place Armadillomon? Everyone's acting like a bunch of kids."

"But you are a bunch of kids."

"I mean, more than usual."

"Of course," Casimir was grinning slightly. "We're all mad here, you know."

(Well, here it is. Hope this is keeping you all interested, sorry for the delay. Was my digimon history any good? Or was it just plain bad? Please review and tell me! Besides, I'm planning on a sequel or a prequel and I need ideas. Please review to vote which character you'd must like to read a prequel about.) 


	15. Is love in the air?

Disclaimer- I don't own _anything _other than the characters I've invented. Are you satisfied!?

(Thank you all for your support. I didn't think I was any good at writing until now! Just two small points.

1st- Considering what's going on between Hikari and Chimofu, how come a horde of maddened Takari fans haven't lynched me yet?

2nd-Please vote for which character you'd most like me to write a prequel about. Please!!!!!

Ahem! Anyway, here's chapter 15!)

Chapter 15

For the first time in a long while, Ken was in a good mood without Miyako being there. Not that Miyako's presence was a bad thing, but it had been a while.

As Ken reached his front door, he paused to pull out his house keys.

__

"I hope they bought the sleepover ploy." Ken didn't want to imagine how his parents would react if they found out he'd been dead for several hours. Though in the real world, it had been less than a second. In fact, it was barely lunchtime, though he felt like he'd been gone for days. 

He'd never quite understood how time moved so much faster in the digital world, but as a solid fact it explained many things. It explained how the older Chosen had been able to spend a few weeks in the digital world yet return to the real world a comparative instant after they left. 

Not that it was worth worrying about too much. It felt good to be home.

"Hey son!" His father seemed to be in a good mood as he entered. 

"Hey dad! How've you been?"

"Fine, fine. Your mother and I have been enjoying some peace and quiet since yesterday." He laughed to show it was a joke. His mother bustled in from the next room.

"Oh hello Ken dear, how was your sleepover?"

"Great mom, thanks for asking." Ken headed for his room, then stopped and turned to look at his parents, who quickly looked away as he did. His father continued to read a newspaper and his mother busied herself in the kitchen. The silence was deafening.

"Are you guys okay?"

"Yeah sure!"

"Oh nothing's wrong here Ken, why?" They said it just a little too quickly. Ken decided it was best not to argue the point. It had been hard enough to stop himself hugging her and calling her "mama" again. He walked towards his room.

"So what's her name Ken?" 

Ken froze, his face going livid with panic. 

"Er, what ever do you mean by that mom?"

"Come on Ken! There's no point in hiding it! We already know that she has pink hair and that she's a bit dizzy."

"Hey! Miyako is not dizzy!"

"Aha! So her name's Miyako!" Ken fumed while his parents did a high-five like a pair of teenagers. He put his bag down and turned to face them, giving them a_ 'how old are you?' _look. 

"Mom, Dad, I don't know why you're doing this, but Miyako is not dizzy!"

"Of course she isn't," his father replied in a conciliatory tone. "It was an honest mistake. Apart from the hair, you look a lot like your brother." There was silence at this statement, as there always was when Osamu was mentioned. 

"We're not making fun of you Ken," his mother cut in as Ken turned away. "It's just that, well, we wanted to know more about her. This hasn't happened to us before."

"What!" Ken was incredulous. "That can't be! Osamu must have had…"

"No Ken," his father said, "he did not."

"But why? He was…a celebrity! How could he have not been surrounded by girls?" Then a horrible thought entered Ken's mind.

"Are you saying that…?"

"We're not saying that at all. Your brother was just…different. That's all. Sometimes I think he was as shy as you deep down." His mother was wistful, contemplative. All of a sudden she brightened.

"So! Are you going to do something special for her tomorrow?!" 

"Oh no!" Ken was suddenly panic-stricken. "Tomorrow's Valentine's day! Aww man!"

***

After a few minutes panic, Ken finally came up with a plan. One quick phone call, a little artwork, and another big favour from Wormmon.

"Moshi moshi, Takenouchi Flower Emporium, the proprietor speaking. How may I be of help?"

****** 

"Oh Ken," Miyako murmured, only half awake. She was still dreaming of his face, of the pair of them dancing through a field of flowers. Then she woke up.

She immediately remembered that it was Valentine's day, which gave her an excuse to jump up and down on the bed in excitement.

Then she realised that Ken had probably not had time to get her anything fancy. This brought her down to earth with a crash, and a feeling of disappointment.

Then her lethargic early-morning mind registered rather a lot of green and red in her room. She blinked and reached for her glasses. She put them on, and gasped.

Her room was strewn with roses, red roses. They were arranged all over the room like something out of a gothic romance, as though her love had flown through the window and left them as a token of affection. 

She flopped back onto the bed, overcome with a mixture of shock and delight. There was nothing like going from down to up and out the other end. She had to spend a few moments composing herself, her mind awash with images, wondering who had done this.

When she had got herself together enough to get up, she noticed the envelope on her bedside table. She froze, wanting to know, yet at the same time, afraid of who it might be. 

She walked slowly forward, then grabbed the envelope and ripped it open, praying it was…

It was a card, with a picture of Ken on it, modified somehow to give him a pair of white wings and surround him in heavenly light. She looked inside.

"To you, my Princess, for whom your angel flies once more."

***

Hikari and Takeru had been enjoying a quiet, civilised walk to school until they heard singing coming from behind. They turned, incredulous, to see Miyako bounding along the street.

"My boyfriend is an angel! My boyfriend is an angel! My boyfriend is an angel! Oh Hikari, Takeru! You'll never believe what I got from Ken this morning!"

"Well it must have been something nice," Hikari replied in her 'nice, but sensible' voice, "otherwise you wouldn't be bouncing around like an eight-year-old at a birthday party."

"He filled my room with roses! My sisters are so jealous! Mantarou couldn't keep a straight face, but you know him!" Miyako began to bounce around some more.

"Oh just wait until I find Ken! He's an angel! He's…UNICO!" Hikari and Takeru sweat-dropped as Miyako danced around them singing one of the aforementioned's songs. Hikari had to admit that the thought of Ken as a baby unicorn was rather appealing. She pictured it for a moment.

Then the Unico\Ken metamorphosed into a Unico\Chimofu. A cute, but very lonely-looking little baby unicorn, with a crew cut. 

She shook the image away, along with the urge to cuddle him and play with his tail. As she walked along, listening to Miyako deafening Takeru with her Ken babble, she prayed inwardly that the image didn't arise again. If she was not in complete control of her faculties around Chimofu, then things could get very embarrassing.

******** 

_"So you're the one." _The Master watched as Sami's candidate ran across the view screen. The picture from her camera, and the angle, were both perfect. 

From what information he had found, this boy seemed a good choice. Perhaps he really was the one!

_"Lo, he wanders o'er the earth in misery. By his loneliness do they live, by his denial are they spared the touch of evil. For he is the anointed one, he can have none, for the creature was appointed to slay those who transgress."_

The Book of Prophecies had been his only source of information regarding the Dark Champion himself. From it had come the prophecy that Angels would fire arrows of Hope and Light at the loved ones of those they were sent to protect, written on a stone tablet centuries ago, in digital world time that is.

_"Turning him should not prove difficult, considering what we are offering, and what he has endured."_ As he thought of that, he unconsciously reached up and touched his face, in response to the memories it brought.

_"Do it!"_

"No!"

"Do as I tell you! Kick him!"

"No! I've no reason to!"

"If that's how you're going to play it…!"

With considerable mental force he dispelled the memories. He was shaking, sweating, unable to stop himself. It took six full chalices of Dark Water to restore equilibrium.

_"The Dark Water is becoming less effective. I need more for the same effect. Perhaps Lupumon was right…"_

He pushed that thought away too. He had no option but to continue using the Water until he had the relic.

Without it he would be less than nothing. He would be the weak person he had once been, unable to access his powers, pinioned by sentiment.

Anything was better than that.

The Master looked up at the screen again, to see his target still running. The image panned across as he ran. 

_"Soon you will be mine, and all the World shall know."_

********

"Yay! Go Takeru! Go Chimofu!" Hikari was rather enjoying the game. Takeru was Odaiba's best performer and Chimofu was making perfect use of all his team's skills. Tamachi was being beaten into the ground. 

"Odaiba rules! Tamachi drools!" Miyako was also there, waving fans and generally being confrontational. They stood in the new observation gallery, giving a perfect view without the risk of being hit by a stray basketball. The small contingent of Tamachi supporters were in the opposing gallery, including, Miyako could not help but notice, Ken. 

Not that it was a surprise. Despite the down turn in his academic achievement, Ken was still Tamachi's 'corporate symbol'. He was still required to make appearances at inter-school events, if anything for his looks. 

Hikari looked up at Miyako and saw her staring across the hall at her soul mate. Despite Miyako's tribal attitude towards the Tamachi students, Hikari knew that she wanted to run over to Ken, glomp him and smother him in kisses. But that was her prerogative. 

All the thought of romance turned her mind to Chimofu again, as the final whistle was blown. The Odaiba team engaged in the traditional masculine victory celebrations, and as usual Chimofu did not share in it. 

_"Why doesn't he smile? Did no one send him a Valentine?" _If someone had sent a Valentine's day token to 'Ice King', as he was known, it would have been all over the school. Gossip travelled fast in Odaiba Elementary. The lack of such gossip meant he mustn't have got anything.

Hikari felt guilty deep down. He was supposed to be settling in, yet he set himself apart from everyone else seemingly out of fear. She wanted to help yet she had done very little.

_"And why haven't you? Are you afraid he'll say 'who asked you to?' and throw it in your face?"_ She hated listening to her introspection talking like Myotismon, but it was telling the truth. He would never fit in with that cold façade. She would have to break the ice.

And there was a perfect opportunity. After the game he would be too tired to run away if she caught him outside the changing rooms. 

She would soon show everyone that they had nothing to fear from Chimofu. 

***

Hikari pressed her back against the wall, watching the door of the boys locker room. Chimofu would be out any moment. She giggled inwardly as she imagined Chimofu's reaction to what she was going to do.

_"You'd better pucker up Chimu-chan!" _She waited, pinned against the wall, watching the team leave in twos and threes. Eventually only Chimofu remained.

Yet still he did not emerge. Hikari was beginning to wonder what he was doing. Even Taichi never took that long in the bathroom when he was trying to annoy her. 

Slowly, stealthily, looking around to make sure nobody was watching, Hikari sidled up to the door and opened it a crack to peek inside.

There was nobody there, though a shower was running. Taking one last look to make sure nobody was watching, she opened the door slightly wider and slid through the opening. 

Fortunately there were no security cameras inside, for decency's sake. Otherwise the Principal might have some odd questions to ask later.

Hikari had toyed with the thought of sneaking into the boys' Locker room for some time, but now that she was in she had no time for sightseeing, no interest in seeing if the place was insanitary as all the other girls insisted. 

She tiptoed towards the showers, any sound she made masked by the noise of the running shower. She reached the partition, then froze. She didn't want to see him naked, did she? Come to think of it, was it even him in the shower? 

Her doubts were soon overcome by her curiosity. Heart pounding in her chest, she poked her head around the partition…

…and shrieked.

Chimofu was standing with his back to her, his head bowed, hot water running down him. Her involuntary shriek was not caused by his nakedness, for there was nothing to see in that respect, but rather by his whole body.

It was covered in scars and scratches, thin red stripes running along him. Some were pale pink, probably very old, but others were livid and fresh, some even scabbed. 

She felt too sick to think clearly, even as he turned his head to look at her, his face expressionless. He took his hand off the switch, allowing the shower to run down. 

"Would you pass me a towel please?" his tone was neutral. Hikari, shivering and her limbs moving as though worked by a nervous puppeteer, took a towel from the rack and took it from him. She couldn't take her eyes off his back, his back that looked like some sort of nightmarish butcher's block. 

He wrapped the towel around his middle and walked past her, not acknowledging her presence further. She stood frozen, rooted to the spot, her mind dominated by what she had just seen. His scarred body filled her with pity and fear.

"Chimofu…" She turned slowly, noticing with some relief that he was wearing his black trousers now. She moved closer, half paralysed still, reaching out to touch his scarred back. 

"Don't…please…it hurts." She pulled her hand away quickly. He turned to her, his sad eyes boring into hers. She recovered first.

"How did this happen? How did you get like this? You poor thing." 

"An accident…with a lot of glass…a year ago." His explanation made sense, but Hikari wasn't sure. The cuts were in a seemingly random pattern, suggesting he'd been hit by a flurry of sharp objects, but the cuts themselves seemed too clean and precise.

She looked closely at the scars, noted their exact positions, and it clicked.

_"Pressure points."_

Iori had once shown her a chart his grandfather had given him, showing where the human body's pressure points were. It had been given to him so that he would know exactly where to hit someone to put them down quickly.

"Chimofu," she looked into his eyes, her tone serious. "Who did this to you?"

"No one."

"Don't lie to me. Those scars were deliberate. Who's been hurting you?"

"No one you know," he pulled on his tee shirt. "I told you to forget about me."

"I can't. Don't ask me to do that. Or are you so emotionally retarded that you can't tell that I care about you?"

"I've done nothing to deserve your concern."

"My caring about you is not something you earn. I'm not a prize to be won."

"Of course you're not. You are too strong-willed, in spite of your appearance. I suggest you use some of that will and let go of this trivial affection, before you get hurt."  
"I won't!"

"DO YOU WANT TO DIE YOU LITTLE FLIRT!?" She backed away, the force of his fury like an emotional battering ram. His eyes were shining like stars, glistening.

Glistening with tears.

"Chimofu," her voice was quavering. "What's wrong? Tell me. Talk to me Chimofu." He was quiet, his face sagging from its mask of anger.

"Hikari."

"Chimofu."

"Hikari," his tone was gentle, pleading, desperate. "I beg of you. Forget about me. For your own sake. If you don't, he'll come after you."

"Who!?" He froze, knowing he'd let something slip.

"Something not of this world! He'll destroy you Hikari, just for this, if he feels like it. There is nothing anyone can do about it. Nothing!"

He turned, grabbed his bag and bolted through the door.

"Chimofu! Wait!" She ran after him as he turned a corner and crashed through the fire door at the end of the hallway. She could see the mist outside, the same mist as at their earlier meeting. As she ran into the mist, she could see Chimofu.

For just a moment she could see him. Bending forward slightly, something bulging under his tee-shirt…

…then the mist curled around him, hiding him from view. She ran blindly on through the mist, screaming his name. 

Until the mist vanished as quickly as it had come. There was no sign of Chimofu. Just a faint sound, like the beating of wings. 

***

"What are you so happy about Daisuke?" Takeru was genuinely curious, seeing Daisuke leaning on the playground wall grinning from ear to ear.

"Oh, nothing. I just got a VALENTINE FROM CATHERINE!" Daisuke was ecstatic. "She loves me! Only me! Ye-ah! She loves meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!" 

"All the way from France?"

"Airmail, sealed with a kiss! Why? Are you jealous TJ?" Takeru was certain the mispronunciation of his nickname was deliberate. "Did you get one from_ Suzuki Hiroko?_" Takeru went pale at the memory of the girl of his nightmares, the girl he had the misfortune to run into on an almost daily basis, the girl who to put it mildly just wasn't his type. She seemed even more obsessed with him than any other girl had ever been obsessed with any member of his family, and that was coming up against some stiff competition. 

He went doubly pale at finding out that Daisuke knew of his problem, and paler still at the fact that she _had_ sent him a Valentine. 

The big change in mood happened when Hikari appeared in the doorway, looking less than happy. After a hug from Takeru, she related everything that had happened between herself and Chimofu after the basketball game against Tamachi. 

"You went in the boys locker room!?" Daisuke couldn't help but pick up on that particular fact. "Wow! I never knew you had it in ya!"

"Daisuke! This is not about Hikari sneaking into the boys' smelly locker room! This is about serious romantic disappointment! And besides Hikari, I don't know why you bother with that weird kid."

"HE IS NOT WEIRD!" Takeru had never seen Hikari be so forceful. "He's confused! He's scared! He _needs_ me! Can't you understand that?"

"I do understand, but how do you know he won't just break your heart?"

"Because he's not doing it the right way. He's trying to push me away, not seduce me. He kept saying that someone would kill me if I cared about him too much."

"We should tell the Principal," Daisuke was being uncharacteristically serious. "If someone's doing that to him, then he could be in real trouble."

"I wouldn't bother," Hikari cut in. "Koushiro told me his file was marked 'In Transit', basically meaning it's classified and they don't want casual hackers reading it. The Principal probably knows more than we do. Telling him won't do any good." 

"Then what do we do?"

"We do something about it!" Daisuke had switched into hero mode. "We're Chosen children, we help each other out! And a Chosen's boyfriend is a Chosen too!"

"Where do you come up with this stuff?" Takeru sweatdropped. 

(Do you recall what I said earlier about the Takari fans? Is this Locker room scene a bit much? Please R+R and tell me! That way I can remove it if you find it offensive or inappropriate.) 


	16. A dangerous pledge

Disclaimer – I don't own digimon etc.

(Well, if everyone's okay with that scene, then I won't remove it. Thanks to everyone for reviewing so faithfully. I hope to conclude this story in a while. Don't worry, it'll be good.)

Chapter 16

"Come on Ken-chan, do it!"

"Miyako, please…!"

"Come on Ken! It's so cute!" Ken sighed, knowing deep down that he couldn't say no to his soulmate on Valentine's day, no matter who might be watching. He screwed up his mouth to make that right sound.

"Do you need a hug?" he managed to say, in a perfect impersonation of a certain baby unicorn.

"I do!" Miyako proceeded to glomp him, occasionally saying "Uniken!" All Ken could do was grin and bear it; well, maybe that was a bit harsh. He loved Miyako, and was glad that she loved him back. He decided that he would have to get used to this. 

This went on for several minutes until the others joined them in the computer lab. At this point, both of them realised that something was wrong. Even Daisuke looked serious.

"Hey guys, what's wrong?"

"It's Hikari. She had a run-in with Chimofu." Takeru replied.

"Oh no! Are you okay? He didn't hurt you, did he?" Miyako put her arms around Hikari to comfort her. Hikari told them everything that had gone on between herself and Chimofu over the last few weeks, including the incident in the shower room. 

"Daisuke was right!" Miyako said when Hikari had finished. "We should do something about it."

"Yeah," Takeru agreed, "he needs our help, and it seems like we're the only ones willing to help."

"I'm not sure," they all turned and looked at Iori, who looked rather bashful.

"Why not?" Hikari was genuinely surprised.

"Well…it's just that…is this really any of our business?"

"Yes it is!" Iori was shocked, he'd never thought Hikari was capable of yelling. "It's my business because I love him to bits and I want him to stop suffering and be my boyfriend! Is that enough!?" She gave a little shriek of embarrassment and covered her mouth.

"Wow Hikari," Miyako was looking at her as though she had pulled out a shotgun.

"Well that's how I feel," Hikari said defensively.

"Gomen-nasai," Iori bowed deeply, he looked utterly crushed. "Please forgive me for having such an offensive opinion."

"It's not that you shouldn't have an opinion," Hikari's tone had returned to normal. "It's just that I don't agree with it."

"It's just that…I don't think it would be right to interfere directly." Iori's tone betrayed his nervousness. "We should just tell Social Security and let them handle it."

"It might be a good plan." They all turned to see Koushiro standing in the doorway.

"Koushiro?" Ken was surprised. "Where do you come into all this?"

"I have some information as regards to Chimofu, some rather _sensitive"_ he looked pointedly at Hikari, "information. I thought it might be useful to you."

"What have you got? Tell us!" Miyako was adamant. Koushiro walked over to the table and sat down, pulling a disc from his pocket as he did so. He slid it into the drive.

"Last chance. If you don't want to get upset, say so." The Chosen were decided, no one spoke up. Koushiro accessed the disc.

The Chosen watched and listened, dumbstruck as Koushiro spoke.

"Chimofu has a quite substantial police record. Not for any crime he's committed, but rather for crimes committed around him. A series of forty murders have been linked to him, all the victims were either relatives or friends of his. He has been found innocent of all these murders; indeed, many of them couldn't possibly have been committed by him. His biological parents were the first to go, followed by four grandparents and four sets of foster parents. Spread between them were twenty children. Four others are classified.

They were murdered in increasingly creative and elaborate ways, as though the murder wishes to show that he is unstoppable. The evidence suggests that he is right. 

Chimofu has spent most of his life wandering the world. Every time someone dies he moves on, not even attending the funeral. It seems that he blames himself for these murders, seemingly because the victims were all close to him. He may have come to believe that anyone who loves him will die, which would explain why he shuts everyone out.

As for his physical injuries, these may either be self-inflicted or caused by the murderer, leaving us with a sordid list of possible reasons."

Koushiro looked up at the Chosen. They all just looked shocked, with the exception of Hikari and Takeru.

Hikari was crying uncontrollably, Takeru holding her to him in a futile attempt to comfort her.

"That's what I meant when I said Iori's suggestion may be the best idea. By trying to help him, you are going up against a someone who will stop at nothing, a force of nature. If this person is human, you may be able to stop him. If not…"

"Are you suggesting," Ken recovered first. "That the thing who did all this is a digimon?"  
"It makes some sense," Koushiro replied. 

"Then we have to do something," Iori sounded more certain than ever before. "We have to. Otherwise I feel like I'll never feel good again." The atmosphere had turned sombre. All the bouncy happiness of Valentine's day seemed futile in the face of this misery.

"Well," Miyako said wistfully. "Another ruined Valentine's day."

"No it isn't," Ken said, putting his arms around her waist. "We still have a date tonight, remember?"

"I just feel…I just don't feel like celebrating any more. Everything seems so stupid."

"We have to let go," Ken pulled her close. "We can't let this get us down. We have to keep on enjoying life no matter how much suffering there is in the world. We have to remember that there are good things too. Otherwise, we'll just finish up like Magnus." 

"Yeah…you're right. Are you still up for that date?" Ken smiled and planted a huge wet kiss on her nose. The atmosphere lightened considerably. Even Hikari managed to smile through her tears.

"Ken's right," Takeru spoke up. "There are good things in the world to remember. Like friendship, and helping people who need our help."

"And giving me CANDY!" Chibimon shouted cheerily. Everyone else fell over with one leg in the air, the moment completely ruined. 

_"But it was such a perfect moment,"_ Hikari thought, _"when I realised what Ken was talking about is true. I'm still sad about Chimofu, but I don't want to get depressed. I want to share all these good things with him." _

********

"What is it Sire?" Casimir looked up to see Ryo. He had been standing on a balcony, staring out over the lake."

"I have been thinking, Ryo, about what must be done. I understand that we have a way by which this horror may be ended without bloodshed, but the risks are great."

"You're talking about Alicia."

"Yes. Magnus does not yet know."

"But she remembers nothing."

"I have long sought a means by which her memories can be restored. She may be the key to everything."

"But will Magnus believe?"

"Sometimes I think not. Magnus will think it is some sort of trick, and that will make things infinitely worse. He has burnt all but one of his bridges."

"All of them," came a worryingly familiar voice. They both turned to see a blue shape materialise on the balcony rail. 

"Lupumon!" Ryo snarled. Cyberdramon dropped from among the gargoyles above and landed next to him. Ponymon burst through the double doors. Lupumon quickly raised his hands to placate them.

"It's all right! I come in peace!"

"Oh really?" Ryo did not seem impressed. "You're Magnus' partner! How do we know he didn't send you?"  
"Because he has banished me from his presence." Lupumon looked forlorn. "He no longer listens or even talks to me. I love him and I want to help him, which is why I came here, because you are the only ones who can help me bring him back." 

Ryo softened. He had to grab Cyberdramon to stop him attacking Lupumon. 

"Then it is worse than I could have imagined. You were his only link to his old self. Now he has broken that link." For the first time in many years, Casimir seemed truly afraid. "All will soon be lost if we do not fight."

"No Sire," Lupumon spoke up. "There is another way. I may be able to help Alicia restore her memories. Please, bring her here." Casimir sent Ponymon to bring her. After a few minutes Alicia and Renamon appeared in the doorway. Renamon's eyes widened.

"Lupumon?"

"Renamon!" They both vanished, then reappeared, their arms and tails wrapped around each other like a long-lost brother and sister. 

"Lupumon! I've missed you so much!"

"I've missed you too Renamon."

"Okay, okay, fun's over." A sweatdropping Ryo spoke up. 

"Renamon," Alicia looked confused. "Do you know this digimon?"

"Of course I do," Renamon replied, still wrapped in Lupumon's arms. "You know him too."

"He seems…familiar somehow."

"Alicia," Lupumon reached behind his back and pulled out a framed photograph. "I want you to look at this. Try to remember."

******** 

Hikari was adamant. She was not going to let Chimofu get away this time. 

She had found out, from a rather reluctant Koushiro, that Chimofu also lived in Heighton View Terrace. He had a single apartment, seemingly all to himself.

_"How is it that he's able to live all alone like that?"_ It was difficult for her to understand. There were very few kids in the world who could. If Daisuke had been left alone in an apartment, it would have been a pigsty within a week, yet she'd heard no rumours of bad smells or rat infestations on Chimofu's floor. 

"Can you smell anything Gatomon?"

"Apart from your gym socks?" came a muffled voice from within her backpack. She'd thought it best to bring Gatomon along, just in case something strange happened. It paid to be prepared.

The elevator came to a clunking halt and Hikari slid the barrier open. 

_"Okay, number seven, just along here."_ She headed along towards number seven. It was getting dark; the sun gave a red glow on the horizon. When she reached number seven, she saw that the door was slightly ajar. 

She stopped, put down her backpack and opened it. Gatomon immediately leapt out, as though she would not get another chance.

"Phew! Those socks smell like old cheese!"

"Gatomon, take a look inside."

"You take a look inside!"

"I'm not looking in there! He might not be decent!"

"My point precisely!"

"Go on! Be a sport!" Hikari grabbed Gatomon and pushed her through the crack in the door.

"Do you see anything?"

"No just some…wait! What's that?" Hikari peered around the doorframe.

Chimofu was crouched in the opposite corner, curled in a foetal position. She could hear a whimpering noise and what may have been words. 

"No…please…don't hurt her…she's innocent…please!" Overcome by a wave of pity, Hikari slid through the gap, eased the door shut behind her, and padded softly towards Chimofu. Gatomon hid in the shadows to avoid being noticed.

"Chimofu. It's all right. I'm here." She slid one arm between his knees and his chest, putting the other around his back, and hugged him to her. He quietened, but continued to shiver. His eyes had lost focus, staring blankly. She kissed his forehead, whispered soothing baby talk in his ear. Eventually he stopped shivering, and his eyes began to focus.

"Mama? HIKARI?" He broke away from her and backed away along the wall, looking at her as if she'd caught him in the shower.

"What are you doing in here?"

"Your door was open, I thought you were being robbed or something. Then I saw you shivering in the corner." Chimofu calmed, but was nevertheless sullen. 

"I didn't want anyone to…see me like that."

"It's nothing to worry about. You're in pain. I can help you, if you let me."

"You must not. I've told you before," Chimofu was suddenly panic-stricken. "You must forget about me!"

"I won't!" Hikari was adamant. "You need me, and I'm going to help you whether you want it or not. Its called tough love!"

"You…must…not…" Chimofu fell to his knees and buried his face in his hands. 

"You have to…forget. I…beg of you…I don't want you…to get hurt!" Hikari knelt in front of him, her heart wrenching for him. She put a hand on his shoulder and he looked up at her. Tears were running down his face.

"I don't want anyone else to die! Everyone's been so kind…so understanding." He was sobbing now, torn by grief and fear. "No one else…deserves to…die." Hikari had never seen him like this. It was worse than seeing Ken break down after Wormmon died. 

"Who?" her voice was quavering. "Who's been killing them. Who did this to you Chimofu?"

"_Him._ He hunted them down. Killed them. Some of them before my very eyes. I saw them…

I don't want him to hurt you too. Please…just leave me alone!"

"I can't."

"WHY!" he howled.

"Because I love you." 

There was silence. Chimofu stared at her, his red eyes wide. 

"I love you," she was crying now, as a wave of emotion broke free of her heart. "I've watched you for all this time. Just you all alone, and I've wanted to help you. When I actually got a rise out of you, I found something out. I found that you were the most wonderful person I've ever met. You've never hurt anyone your whole life, yet you allow someone to hurt you to stop him from hurting others. You're like…an angel. A fallen, broken angel, and I want to help you fly again."

"Hikari, I…"

"Just let me in. Let me into your heart. Don't worry about that monster. Open your heart to me."

"Hikari," Chimofu was utterly overcome. "You know, that you will die for this?"

"I can't deny my feelings. I _won't_ deny my feelings for you. I just hope that, you can understand." Chimofu sat up and wiped the tears from her eyes. 

_"She's so beautiful, yet so kind too. Even in the face of rejection or death, she does not back down."_

"Hikari, many people have cared for me. I love them all, even though they are gone. And even though for all these weeks I have tried to push you away, you never gave up on me. I love you Yagami Hikari."

Hikari gasped. There it was. The perfect moment. That instant when you gave all and received all.

_"He loves me? I love him, and he loves me? Can this be real?"_

"Chimofu."

"Hikari!" They fell into each other's arms, sank into each other's love. To Chimofu, it was the first warmth he had felt in many years. To Hikari, it was a moment she'd waited for her whole life, a moment she sometimes thought she'd never experience. 

They drew back to look each other in the face. She stared into his soulful eyes, his gentle smile. He marvelled, not at her beauty, but at her light. She seemed to glow, a celestial incandescence, an aura of light brighter than the sun.

He reached forward, his arms sliding around her. She reached forward too, to meet him in the middle.

It was more than anything she could have imagined. She tasted him, felt him, drank him in. It seemed as though they were alone in a place where there was nothing but love, nothing but that simple, tender kiss.

As they broke, for oxygen as much as for anything else, Hikari got the strange feeling that someone was watching her. She looked sideways, while still clinging to Chimofu, to see Gatomon standing in the doorway to the kitchen, holding a bag of popcorn and staring wide-eyed at them. 

"Oh…uh…Hikari. I was just…getting…some popcorn. You don't mind, do you?" That last question was directed at Chimofu, who was staring at her.

"What…is that?"

"I'm Gatomon. I'm a digimon, short for digital monster. I'm Hikari's partner." Hikari looked up at Chimofu, expecting fear or anger, but he was actually smiling.

"So the rumours were true. That wasn't just a terrorist attack all those years ago. There are such things as digimon."

"Yep! And we're here to fight the wicked creature that's been chasin ya Chimu!"

"Chimu?"

"Chimu-chan!"

"Can I call you Hikari-chan then?" Then all of a sudden, it went very cold. Chimofu looked up, his face pale.

"Oh no! It's _him_! We have to go!" He grabbed Hikari and pulled her towards the door. She did not resist. She could feel the dark presence looming all around. Gatomon dropped her popcorn and followed. They ran toward the elevator, but an apparition blocked their way. It was black, with glowing red eyes and mouth. It gave an inhuman cackle as they turned and ran the other way. They burst through the door of the fire escape stairs, saw the downstairs route blocked by another apparition and ran up and up and up. 

The last door crashed open, and they were on the roof. Trapped.

Then something separated itself from the night sky and floated down to land a few feet from them. It was humanoid, about eight feet tall, with red skin adorned with black straps and cross-belts. Its hands were long and thin, ending in fingers like whips. The most disconcerting feature was the eyes, which were almost human.

"I am…Sadismomon. Such a pleasure to meet you." It bowed, reminding Hikari of Piedmon. "Such a pretty little thing Chimofu. Why did you have to drag her into all this? Wouldn't it be so much better just to give me my due?"

"I won't let you hurt her Sadismomon!" Chimofu was enraged. "I'll fight to the death!"

"Not quite to the death Chimofu. I won't let you die so easily. I have yet to have my fill of you." 

"You're a monster!" Hikari stepped up, Gatomon beside her. "Why do you have to hurt Chimofu? What's he done to deserve what you're doing to him?" Sadismomon sniggered.

"Nothing. Nothing at all. I'd like to hear you scream, little girl. I'll make you watch tonight, while I prepare Chimofu for my pleasure." 

Chimofu gave a roar of fury. Hikari could see those curious bulges on his back again. His tee shirt ripped.

Hikari gasped as a pair of white wings burst from Chimofu's back. 

"Chimofu…you're…an angel?" 

"Not really, I just came with a free pair of wings. My mother thought it was a good deal."

He leapt into the air, beating his wings furiously. Sadismomon carelessly dodged, then brought back his hand with it's whips flailing.

"Pain Lash!"

Chimofu was knocked to the ground. As he tried to roll over, Sadismomon lashed him again, and again. 

"I've had enough of this!" Gatomon ran at Sadismomon.

"Lightning Paw!"

"Torture Darts!"

The flurry of darts smashed Gatomon to the ground and pinned Hikari to the door. She couldn't move, she couldn't feel her limbs. All she could do was watch as Sadismomon lashed and cut at Chimofu's prone form.

"Rod of Torment! Pain Lash!"

It was terrible to look at. Hikari wanted to close her eyes, wanted to look away, but she could not. It seemed to last for an eternity. Then finally it stopped. Sadismomon picked Chimofu up and hung him against the mesh fence. A few darts pinned him in place by his wings. 

"Good. Now you can watch me kill your little friend and her digital kitty. I do hope you'll enjoy it." He turned and walked toward Hikari, grinning triumphantly. Closer, closer, closer.

"Hand of Fate!" Sadismomon was knocked sideways as Angemon attacked.

"Are you all right Hikari!?" Takeru called from Angemon's back. Hikari flexed her fingers. At least her body was starting to work again.

"I'm okay!" She pulled herself free of the darts, ignoring the tears in her clothes, and ran to Chimofu. After a few seconds of frantic pulling, she was able to pull out the darts. She cradled him in her arms, ignored the blood soaking her top, weeping with compassion.

"Chimofu!"

"Hikari..."

"Oh Chimofu, my lamb, what has he done to you?"

"I didn't…want you…to see this."

"It's all right. Everything's going to be all right." She nuzzled his face.

"Hikari! Are you okay?" Takeru was running towards her, along with Daisuke and Iori. Their partners were off fighting Sadismomon.

"Wow!" Daisuke stared. "How come…why does he…what's with the wings?"

"I don't know and frankly it's not important."

"Did _he_ do this?" asked an enraged Daisuke.

"Yes, he's the one Koushiro was talking about."

"Grrrr! That monster! GET HIM FOR ME ANGEMON!"

"ANKYLAMON, SHOW NO MERCY!"

"EXVEEMON, DO YOUR THING!"

But it was no use. Sadismomon was already gaining the upper hand. Skilful strikes and quick counters sent the digimon flying. One by one they were flung down, landing on the top of the building, dedigivolving. As the Chosen ran to their partners, they felt a sudden wave of drowsiness sweep over them. Unable to resist, they fell to the ground, fast asleep.

"Amazing," Sadismomon remarked. "I didn't know I could do that."

"You can't." Sadismomon looked up to see a black shape descend from the sky to land in front of him. Six feet tall, a mop of white hair, glowing red eyes, billowing cloak.

"YOU?"

"Yes Sadismomon. It is I."

"No! Please…I, I didn't know it was you!" Sadismomon was terrified. He backed away, looking around for an escape, yet knowing that there was no escape.

"Sadismomon, you have something I want."

"No! His body belongs to me! I'll fight you for him!"

"Oh really." As Sadismomon rushed toward him, the Master casually raised a hand. The force wave smashed into Sadismomon and knocked him down. The Master followed up with a black sphere of energy, ringed with a purple corona. It smashed into the prone Sadismomon. With a scream like a tortured soul, he shattered into sparkling motes. 

"Pathetic." 

He walked back among the unconscious Chosen and lifted Chimofu onto his shoulder.

***

"Oh why did this have to happen!?" Miyako groused as she and Ken raced along the street. Everything had been going perfectly. She and Ken had been down to one last spaghetti string. Miyako at one end, Ken at the other. Just as they were about to reach the middle…

"Magnus! I'm going to get you for this! You had to ruin things didn't you!" As they turned the corner, they saw a flash from the top of Heighton View Terrace. A series of small explosions, then a pair of digimon leapt into the air.

"Is that Angemon?" Ken called.

"Yeah, but I don't recognise that other guy! Hang on a sec while I look him up!" She pulled out her D-terminal.

"Sadismomon, this mega level demon likes to cause pain. His Pain Lash and Rod of Torment attacks will show you a world of hurt!"

They watched as Angemon was smashed down. Then a few seconds later something descended from the sky.

"Are we too late? Is all not yet lost?" Hawkmon flew in, with Wormmon web-slinging in tow. 

"The others are in trouble! Time to digivolve!"

*** 

The Master raised his hand, and the same black portal opened before him.

"Magnus! Stop!" He turned to see Stingmon and Aquilamon land on the roof behind him; Ken and Miyako slid off their backs.

"Don't try to stop me Chosen, there has been enough violence tonight." Miyako stared at him, and then stared at the winged boy lying over his shoulder.

"Is that…an angel?" Seeing Miyako staring, Ken took a close look.

"No, it's Chimofu! Why does he have wings? Let him go!"

"I can't do that Ken. Do not fight me. I made them sleep in order to avoid this happening, do not force me to harm any of you."

"And we can't let you win!" Miyako retorted.

"Nor can we." Magnus turned to see Lupumon materialise by the door to the stairwell. The door crashed open to reveal Casimir, in full armour and white cloak. Ponymon was behind him.

"Greetings White Lord," Magnus said, with as much panache as he could muster. "What brings you to Odaiba?"

"I've avoided this Magnus. I've tolerated your excesses for far too long. I've come to put an end to this madness once and for all."

"You know what you'll have to do to stop me now Casimir."

"I hope it won't come to that." Casimir drew his sword. Magnus twiddled his fingers. A stream of black fire lanced from his hand and formed into a blade.

"We'll settle this, the old-fashioned way." 

The blades clashed. Black fire on shining steel. Metallic clangs rang out as the two fought with strength born of fury and speed born of desperation. The sky rumbled as they fought. As their blades touched, they flashed and crackled with raw power.

"You're wasting your time Casimir!" Magnus roared over the noise. "We both know that you can't defeat me!"

"Don't be so sure! The power of good …is stronger …than the power of evil!"

"Naivete! I can channel…and transmute…both good and evil power…into neutral energy that I can use for anything. Your crests …may protect you …from dark power …when it is used directly…but not against indirect use!"

"Mine is the Crest of Nobility Magnus! …I won't give in now!"

"The feeling…is mutual."

Daisuke groaned as his vision returned. 

"What happened? Did I just fall asleep?"

"It certainly looks that way," Ken helped him to his feet. "It must be another one of Magnus' powers."

"I must have banged my head. I'm pretty sure I saw Chimofu with angel wings. Weird or what!"

"Er, Daisuke, he _does_ have angel wings." Daisuke's eyes widened at that revelation.

"Ooooooooo-kay. Now this is getting weird."

Casimir spun under Magnus' blade and kicked out at his legs. Magnus fell, Casimir scrambled to avoid being trapped. Seeing an opening, he ran towards Chimofu, who was still unconscious. Magnus leapt into the air, flew over his head, and landed next to Chimofu. Casimir's lungs were burning, he ran as fast as he could.

But it was too late. Magnus picked up Chimofu and flung him at the portal. 

"NOOOOOOOO!" Casimir stumbled to a halt. Chimofu sank into it as though he were diving into a pool, and it closed behind him. 

Casimir's chest was heaving under his chainmail. He was tiring, though Magnus seemed completely fresh. With a roar, Magnus ran forward, knocked Casimir's blade aside and slammed his elbow into his head. The blow rang off his helmet, but it was enough to knock him to the ground. Casimir lay on his back, unable to move as Magnus held his black sword to his throat.

"Surrender."

"Never."

"You've lost this battle Casimir. Your friends are defeated, you are exhausted and the boy is mine. There is nothing you can do to stop me now."

Takeru and Iori had also woken, and were staring at the scene playing out before their eyes. Their digimon lay in their arms, beaten and exhausted, unable to fight. 

"I don't need to harm you Casimir," Magnus stepped back, extinguished his sword and stood, arms folded, watching Casimir try to get up. 

"If you do," Ponymon snarled, "I'll make you wish you'd never been born!"

"Oh really? You're alone. Your master has been abandoned by his followers and his newer and more faithful friends have no strength with which to aid him. Do you honestly think you could prevent me from doing just as I please with him?" Ponymon hung his head.

"I'm sorry Casimir. I'm not strong enough."

"You know I'm right Casimir," Magnus turned his attention back to his fallen adversary. "Ryo and Alicia have deserted you."

"No! Never!" Magnus looked up to see two digimon drop out of the sky.

"Amazing! You decided to show up after all."

"Are you all right sire?" Ryo asked, dropping from Cyberdramon's back. 

"I am unhurt." even Casimir's voice sounded tired.

Magnus stared at Alicia, and Alicia stared back.

"Magnus?"

"Alicia? No! It can't be…you're dead!"

"Not yet Magnus." Magnus stared, then gave a roar of fury and turned on Casimir.

"HOW DARE YOU! YOU TRY TO FOOL ME WITH A COPY? YOU WOULD DEFILE HER TO DEFEAT ME? INFIDEL! DEMON-SPAWN! WHORE-MONGER!"

"That's not a nice way to talk about your cousin," Gatomon quietly remarked.

"I'm not a clone Magnus!" Alicia was trembling. "When they took me…they hurt me…they did things…when Casimir rescued me…I couldn't remember."

"It's true," Ryo knelt at Casimir's side to help him up. "She's had amnesia all this time. We've been trying to cure her, but nothing worked until now."

"It was this," Lupumon stepped forward, holding up the framed picture for Magnus to see. Magnus went even paler than he was, if such a thing was possible. 

"No, NO! It's not…how did you…?" His mouth hung open. His aura seemed to diminish. His eyes began to change colour. The glow faded, replaced with beautiful pale blue eyes.

"No," he seemed smaller all of a sudden. He clutched at his head. "No, no, no…" He stood there, shuddering.

"Magnus," Casimir was standing now, supported by Ryo. "You have seen the truth. Let this madness end."

"Ken was right, Magnus," he lifted off his helmet, his sweat-soaked hair plastered itself to his head. "Hate does not heal. Love heals, Magnus, and here is love, where it has been waiting for you for all this time."

"No! I cannot love! I…"

"You cannot defeat evil with evil. The World cannot be changed through coercion and the powers of Darkness. 

I have never known such love, Magnus, but you know what it feels like. It is all you need in life, all your soul's contentment. I know Magnus, because she told me."

_"How could this have happened?"_ Tears were running down Magnus' face. 

Tears the colour of blood.

"What's happening to him?" Hikari, who had just awoken, was staring at Magnus.

"The Dark Water," Ken explained. "It's leaving his body." Magnus touched a hand to the tears and looked at it in shock. He reached under his robe and took out a silver chalice.

"Calix…meus…inebrians," he whispered. "How could I have been so blind?" Casimir's eyes widened at the phrase. Magnus crushed the chalice in his hand, it shattered into motes. He was shrinking, changing. Harsh lines were becoming soft curves, pale skin colouring before their very eyes. His robes hung loosely around him. 

"All I ever wanted was to change the world. I was going to create a paradise. I was willing to sacrifice everything for that purpose." His voice was hoarse, his tears were no longer blood red.

"I was powerless before. I could do nothing to stop them hurting Luke. I hurt Luke myself, to stop them from killing him. They hurt me too when I wouldn't obey, but I would gladly have changed places with Luke. He didn't deserve that.

I was going to create a new world for him, where these things didn't happen. He would have new parents and a new home. Away from _them_, away from me.

This world would be for everyone, a place where there would be no more war, no more hatred, no more bigotry, no more greed. Everything would be perfect, because I would make it so, and everyone would understand that it was so much better.

But they don't want that world. People want to hurt each other, people want to steal from each other, all they ever care about is themselves. I realised I would have to force salvation upon them, and with the power of the relic, I would be able to do it.

But then all I cared about was power. To know, to change, to keep silent, and to destroy." He shrugged the cloak off; it shattered into motes, revealing a slick black overall suit and tall boots. His face was just like the one they had been shown in the Castle days earlier, but it was careworn, streaked with tears, no longer smiling.

"I oppressed the entire Digital World," his voice quavered. "I made them give me what I needed. I enslaved Chosen children and their digimon, making them into my Reborn. I thought that it would be all right, because of all the good I was going to do. I was going to set them all free when it was over." He turned his wrist bracer over to reveal a series of switches. He pressed one of them.

"And now, that promise is kept. The Digital World is free." He stretched out his fingers, and they saw that he wore a ring on one of them. He pulled it off and threw it to Casimir, who caught it.

"Your friend is being held in my fortress at Black Spire. Show that ring to the Black Hands and they will release him to you. You must tell them of what has occurred here. They must be allowed to make their own choices.

I don't want your absolution. Nor your forgiveness. I don't deserve either, and I don't think you'd give me either anyway." He walked to the edge of the roof.

The Chosen stared, overcome with sympathy and surprise and confusion all rolled into one. It reminded them all of when Ken had endured the same transformation.

"Magnus." Alicia, tears in her eyes, reached out a hand to him. Magnus turned his head slightly to look back.

"I don't deserve you," he whispered, barely audible, but Alicia somehow heard it. She gasped.

"Magnus! Wait!" He rose into the air, his tears dropping away behind him, a silver wake in the moonlight. His hair ruffled in the wind.

"Don't go!" Daisuke ran to her side. "Don't run away! You're a Chosen child! You're one of us!"

"I," Magnus replied, "am alone." He turned from them and flew away into the night.

(This is probably the longest chapter of them all. Sorry to keep you all waiting. As for the Chimofu\Hikari thing, well as far as I know Hikari and Takeru never got married, and I needed a girlfriend for Chimofu, so why not? Yes I know that Chimofu having wings is a little far-fetched but there is a reason I assure you. You'll find out soon enough! Until then, please R+R!) 


	17. Moments of doubt

Disclaimer – Bla bla bla don't own digimon bla bla bla.

(So glad u liked the last chapter. I did not plan that outcome; it just came out that way. More will be revealed soon. Thank you all so much for your faithful reviewing.)

Chapter 17

"Magnus…" Alicia continued to stare into the sky after him. "Don't go. I love you. Don't go."

But it was already too late. He was out of sight. 

Then, as an afterthought, she looked sideways to where Lupumon had been standing, but he too was gone. 

_"Magnus. I know that you are good, and that you're sorry for all the things you've done. Whatever you're going through, you don't have to face it alone."_

"Come on! We can still catch him!" Ryo gestured for Cyberdramon to come closer.

"No," Casimir said, shocking Ryo. "Let him go. What he must do, he must do for himself. We cannot intervene."

"But what if he turns evil again!?" Miyako looked frantically at the other Chosen for support. "We can't just let him stew! Can we?"

"He has to choose his own path," Iori replied. "We can't choose it for him. If we did, he'd never be free." To Miyako, it made a lot of sense.

"Iori, I've said it before and I'll say it again. You've got the wisdom of an old man of twenty!" 

"I don't understand," Daisuke looked confused. "If the Dark Water is all out of his body, then how come he could still fly?"

"Because he could do so anyway," Casimir spoke up. "His special talent is the ability to absorb and channel positive and negative energy, which he can either use directly or convert into neutral energy which he can use for any purpose he chooses."

"But how…how did he get that?" Miyako was more confused than ever. "Was he mutated by radiation or something?"

"I truly do not know. He seems to have been born with it. Not unlike yourself, Miss Yagami." Hikari looked up in surprise, then smiled in recognition.

"How did you know about that?"  
"I saw you battle Myotismon. It took me some time to figure out though."

"Urrrgh!" Daisuke was clutching at his head. "All this nerd talk is giving me a headache! I'm too tired!" 

"I think that we'd best retire," Casimir pulled a cellphone from beneath his surcoat. " I'll call us a limousine." He raised the cellphone to his ear, then slumped unconsciously to the ground. The Chosen ran to help him.

"Is he okay?" As Ryo supported him, Miyako checked him out.

"He's just sleeping. He must be tuckered out after that fight."

"I'll call the limo," Ryo dialled the cellphone, then pressed a switch on his D-3 and reached down to press the same switch on Casimir's D-3. Alicia did the same. Their costumes withdrew into their D-3s, revealing Casimir and Ryo to be wearing blue uniform suits, not unlike Ken's Tamachi uniform. Alicia wore a matching sailor fuku uniform. 

***

The room was quiet and dark, but everything was still perfectly visible. Enhanced vision had its advantages. There was a bed in the middle of the room, in which lay a young boy of about eight, serene, peaceful, secure. 

Magnus moved closer to the bed, his footsteps silent, even his breath inaudible. Leomon, whose tail was hanging through the wardrobe door, did not stir. 

"I know you probably can't hear me Luke, but this is for the best." He breathed in and out, trying to stem the flow of emotion coming from deep within. He stroked Luke's hair.

"You've probably wondered why I didn't go with you, when they found you at the mansion. I had to go, because you were going away to a nice new home where you would be safe and happy. I can never be a part of that life. It is yours and yours alone.

I just wanted to say that I still love you, little brother. It was I who made them take you away, because you could never be happy in our old home. I did it all for you. 

Now you have the life you deserve, and the friends you deserve. Good-bye, little brother, lost and found. Farewell Luke, your future awaits you."

He stood there for a few moments, then he leant over and kissed Luke on the forehead. That done, he turned and walked to the open window, sliding it shut after him. 

As the window clicked shut, Luke stirred and mumbled as he dreamt. His eyes fluttered open.

"Magnus?" 

The night wind ruffling his white hair, Magnus stared out over the panorama laid out before him. Odaiba was a metal jungle beneath him, and across the river, Tamachi was a spread of twinkling lights. 

He stood on the roof of the apartment building where Luke's new Aunt and Uncle lived. They seemed to love their adoptive nephew as much as his parents did. Their family had been, in Magnus' opinion, just right for Luke.

"Are you sure you've made the right choice?" Magnus did not look up as the familiar voice disturbed his reverie. Lupumon walked up to stand next to him.

"I've said what I wanted to say, and I know I've made the right decision" he replied, still talking in that odd English/American accent he'd picked up at school. 

"He _wants_ you to be a part of his life Magnus. You're his big brother, his _onnichan._"

"Some _onnichan_ I made. I'd be grateful if he never had to see me again in his life."

"It wasn't your fault Magnus. They _made_ you hurt him; they'd have killed him if you hadn't. He forgave you long ago. You should go back to him."

"I've made my choice Lupumon. I don't want to drag Luke, or Alicia, into all this." The digimon sighed, but remained resolute.

"Whatever your choice Magnus, I will stand by you. I have never abandoned you, and never will." Magnus turned his head to look at Lupumon.

"Glad to hear it, old friend." Lupumon stretched out his arms and Magnus surrendered to a furry hug. He hugged back, he had missed that fluffy warmth. 

"At last," Lupumon's voice was full of emotion. "We're back together again. The way it was meant to be." Magnus did not respond. He simply buried his head deeper in Lupumon's chest ruff. Lupumon wasn't sure, but he thought his chest felt slightly damp. 

"Magnus," he stroked Magnus' hair with his paw, pulling him tighter. "It'll be alright. Everything's going to be alright." 

***

"So, Alicia, I didn't know American schools used sailor fuku uniforms too," Miyako remarked. She, Iori, Takeru, Ryo, Alicia, and Casimir remained, the others having been dropped off. As the limousine bore them home, the conversation had turned to more pleasant matters.

"They don't as far as I know. Falco, Ryo and I go to a special school called Valrock Academy."

"VALROCK ACADEMY?" Miyako's mouth dropped open. "THE BRAIN FARM? I thought all the kids from there were really snooty."

"Only the rich ones," Alicia gave an embarrassed laugh. "Ryo and I aren't rich. Falco got us scholarships, but we still had to take the entrance exam."

"Ouch!"

"And the uniforms are Japanese-style. I probably look like a Lolita girl wannabe."

"No you don't! It really suits you. Unlike me that is. Odaiba colour is green. Green is _not_ my colour."

"I thought your name was Casimir" Iori said as Miyako began to ramble.

"Falco is my middle name. I actually prefer it."

"Okay, uh, Falco. But what's Lolita anyway?"

***

Hikari paced around her room, unable to sleep.

_"Chimofu. I hope you're okay."_ She couldn't stop thinking about how quickly everything had happened. Her confrontation with him in his apartment, their pledge of love, the desperate, futile battle with Sadismomon.

And now Chimofu was in the hands of Magnus' disciples, with only his word that they would hand him over. 

_"There's no telling what they might do to him. Could he really be the Dark Champion Falco was talking about?"_

It seemed impossible, illogical. She had to admit that she didn't know Chimofu as well as perhaps she should, but she knew him well enough to know that he wasn't like that.

Was he?

Considering all the pain and loneliness he had endured in his life, what was to say he couldn't be manipulated and twisted into a warrior for evil. 

_"The gentlest souls are most easily corrupted."_

He wasn't as cute or as cuddly as Ken, but she thought he was just as gentle. He also possessed a deadpan sense of humour and a tendency for isolation. 

_"Maybe I can get him to stop isolating himself like that. I can teach him how to make friends and be normal. Maybe we can…"_

Then she stopped. She realised that she really didn't know what he liked doing at all. In fact, she knew very little about him full stop. She liked to be optimistic, but it was no basis for a relationship.

_"Relationships have to be based on having something positive in common. If all he can think about is pain then…what kind of a boyfriend will he be?"_

She felt strange inside. Was it all a mistake? Did she really love him? Or had he been right before? Was she really just satisfying her morbid curiosity? 

She knew that her love stemmed from a deep pity for his condition, but what would happen if he were no longer pitiful? Would he be a different person? Would he still love her if he no longer really needed her?

_"NO! I can't think like this!" _She tried to fight off the terrible sinking feeling. _"If I don't fight for this relationship, it'll fail for sure! I love him and he loves me, that's all that really matters."_

But even inside her own head she didn't sound convinced.

*** 

"Miyako, can I talk to you about something?"

"Sure Hikari!"

It was recess, and the weather had become a little warmer. A pleasant Tuesday morning. They sat under a tree on the edge of the playground.

"It's about Chimofu."

"Well, we're all worried, and…"

"It's not that. It's…well…I'm not so sure we're meant to be together." Miyako was startled by this.

"Oh Hikari! Why?"

"I know that I care about him, but I care about you and the others too. I thought I was in love with him but when I thought seriously about it, I realised that I hardly know him."

"I didn't really know Ken that well when we started our relationship."

"What I mean is…I don't think there's anything about him to know. He's geared his whole life around shutting people out and avoiding pain. He probably doesn't know what he likes to do for fun, or what his favourite food is or any of that stuff."

"But why is that a problem?"  
"It's a problem because I've got nothing to compare. I don't know if we have anything in common at all. I know I'm probably sounding like a whiny little kid but it's not the best foundation for a relationship." 

Miyako sighed. She sympathised with Hikari's position, but knew that it would take some tough love to get her out of this. Hopefully she wouldn't have to slap her.

"It's actually quite ironic."

"What is?"

"You're having all these worries for the same reason that Chimofu has no life."

"Sadismomon?"

"NO! You're afraid of getting hurt. Chimofu cut himself off because seeing his friends and family die hurt him so much. And you're going to let this relationship of yours fall apart because you're afraid of it going sour. 

Chimofu needs your friendship _and _your love to help him rebuild his life. If you withdraw that support because you're afraid of the person he'll become, then he'll never become anything other than what he already is.

Just have faith in him Hikari. With you rooting for him, he can do anything he puts his mind to. Because that's what makes you special Hikari. You can't just heal hearts, you strengthen them too."

Hikari was silent for a long time. Then Miyako saw sunlight glint off her face. Crystal droplets were running from Hikari's eyes.

"Miyako…I've been so stupid and selfish…I WANT MY CHIMU-CHAN BACK!"

"I know," Miyako held her close. "I know."

***

Several hours later, the Chosen stepped through the digital gate…

…into a warzone.

Having found out the exact position of Magnus' base from the White Lord, they had set out with the intention of freeing Chimofu and informing the Black Hands of what had transpired the previous day. But someone, or something, had got there first.

The tower had been destroyed. Lumps of black stone the size of houses lay scattered around the crimson valley. And in between the black shards…

…was a digimon. The Chosen ran to help, pulling debris off the creature's prone body.

"A Meramon!" Ken exclaimed. "Falco told me some worked for Magnus as mercenaries." Miyako knelt by the creature's head.

"What happened?"

"Attack…destroyed…all dead…took boy…" then the hoarse voice fell silent, and the dying flames burnt out. The Meramon shattered into glittering motes. Luke, who had come with them this time, stared at the spot where the Meramon had been. Hikari put an arm around his shoulders. 

"Nothing to say, heroes?" The Chosen spun around. Standing a short distance away, armour bent and battered, blood dripping from a multitude of cuts, was Centurion. 

"Logan!" Takeru refused to use his enemy's code-name. "What happened?"

"Take three guesses." Hikari stared at him, then gasped when she saw blood pumping between the fingers of his left hand, which was pressed over his right shoulder.

"Logan! You're hurt! Come here and let us help you!"

"Too late for that. In a few minutes, it won't matter." They tensed as Logan drew a dirk from his belt.

"Promise me death, and receive a warning in return. Refuse," he raised the dirk to his throat, "and you get nothing. I don't care. At least…I'll get to see Impmon again."

The realisation of what he meant dawned on the Chosen.

"Logan!" Ken said quickly, his voice panicky. "Just…put down the knife…and come over here…"

"Promise me!" Logan pressed the dirk just a little, and they winced as a trickle of blood emerged from under the point.

"Can't stand the blood, _ladies_? Well there'll be plenty more to see if you don't get my warning. I'm the only one left who's conscious. The others are…taking a quick nap."

"Logan, you don't need to kill yourself," Hikari tried to sound as reasonable as possible in the presence of a knife-wielding woman-hater. "It doesn't have to be this way. You've got your whole life ahead of you!"

"I have no life YOU STUPID GIRL!" Still his eyes glowed with hate. "We've lost our leader, and out cause. Now, I don't even have Impmon, and he was more precious to me than all those things combined! There's nothing left for me in this armpit of a world."

"Please!" Iori could no longer cope with the tension. "Let go of your hate!"

"I've had enough of your quibbling! Make your choice!" There was a long pause.

"I'm sorry Logan," Ken spoke quietly. "But we won't take your life."

Then Leomon walked towards Centurion, drawing his sword.

"Leomon!" Luke shouted after him. "What are you doing!?" Leomon walked until he was in front of Logan, then laid the blade at his throat.

"Speak." Logan smiled slightly, then his face went grim again as he spoke.

"It was Daemon who attacked us. The minute the Reborn were released he blasted the bottom of the tower and it all went literally downhill from there. We fought as hard as we could but he was too strong."

"What about Chimofu?" Hikari asked quickly.

"He took the boy, along with the Armour of Night and the Black Sword. He wants to resurrect the Dark Champion for himself and take the Relic for his own personal gain. 

That's all." He looked up at Leomon. "Take it away, Maestro." Leomon brought back his blade, Luke recovered first.

"LEOMON NOOOOOOOO!"

The blade swept down.

Then, at the last moment, Leomon flicked his wrist, bringing down the pommel instead of the blade. With a grunt, Logan fell unconscious to the ground.

"What just happened?" Miyako stared blankly at the anticlimax.

"Leomon," Luke was surprised. "You didn't kill him?"

"No, I didn't."

"But you promised him."

"No I didn't. I never said I would. He just assumed I'd made the promise."

"Now _that_ is clever." Daisuke sounded impressed. 

****

(Juubi -Sorry if it's a little short, but this story is beginning to dry up a little. I hope to finish it soon and move onto other amusing works. I have a medieval fic on the cards, as well as a crazy sequel and maybe a prequel too. **Please report any abuses or offensive things in this fic to me so that I can expunge them! **

Tim – What about that bit with Magnus and Luke?

****

Juubi - Okay, that is a bit weird, would the readers **please say** **so **if they agree. But until next time, please R+R!**)**


	18. Therapy sessions

Disclaimer- I don't own digimon or any other trademarks. Put that lawyer away!

(Here it is. Sorry to make you wait. This fanfic shall soon come to a conclusion. I will admit that I have failed to flesh out some of the characters properly, and that I have a Marvel-esque tendency to re-use the same concept when it comes to bad guys, but I'm working on it. So anyway, enjoy!)

Chapter 18

Inside Falco's castle, the Chosen stared at the screens with mixed feelings.

They showed four children who had once been known as the Black Hands. They were now locked up in separate rooms, without their partners, but in Logan's case this wasn't really an issue.

"Was it really necessary to take their digimon away?" Miyako asked, her voice full of concern.

"I'm afraid so," Falco replied. "I could not risk that they might escape."

"It just seems mean, that's all. I know how I would feel if someone locked me in a room somewhere and wouldn't let me see Hawkmon." She was holding Hawkmon, and unconsciously squeezed him a little tighter. Ken put his arms around her to reassure her. 

"Yeah, but I'm pretty sure they deserve it!" Ryo snarled. Unlike Falco and Magnus, he believed that knowledge of right and wrong was a higher virtue than loyalty. As such, he believed that to serve evil, even out of gratitude, was the same as being evil. He had little sympathy for the Black Hands. 

"But what do we do?" Ken asked. "We can't just leave them there forever, can we?"

"Let me talk to Logan." Hikari had been worried about Chimofu, but she didn't allow it to distract her from the task at hand. "I'm sure he'll listen."

"Hikari, you're nice, but not _that_ nice," Daisuke spoke up. "He hates girls, remember?"

"I have to show him that not all girls are nasty," Hikari replied defensively. "He can't go on like that. Think of his poor wife if he gets married!"

"He doesn't seem like the kind of guy who'd get married."

"I'll talk to him," Takeru stepped forward. "I know what it's like to lose a friend."

"I'll do Tanya," Miyako added, "she could probably use some female company."

"Then I'll talk to Sami and Conrad," Ken spoke up.

"What about me?" Daisuke asked, somewhat indignant at being left out.

"No offence Daisuke," Takeru replied, "but you're not exactly mister-understanding-empathy."

"I AM! I _AM_ UNDERSTANDING!" Daisuke yelled in reply. "I've got so much empathy I have to wear a tin foil hat so that I don't pick up other people's emotions when I'm sleeping!" 

***

When Takeru entered the room, Logan was lying on the bed. He was slightly pasty and a little thinner than he remembered, but he seemed okay. 

"Mind if I come in?"

"Why not? It's not as though I have a choice."

"I just thought that you'd want to talk."

"About what?"

"I really want to know. Why do you hate girls so much?"

"Why should I tell you that?"

"Because I think that deep down, you want to tell someone." Takeru could see the look in Logan's eyes. It said _"of course I want to, but you've got to persuade me."_

"I think," Takeru said, warming to his work, "that a girl, or several girls, hurt you in some way. I think that your sister was having a slumber party, and she and her friends grabbed you and used you as a dress-up doll." 

There was fury in Logan's eyes. _"Aha!" _Takeru thought.

"Not that I'm patronising you or anything. That would've traumatised me as well. I mean, if Miyako, Hikari and Alicia were to come in here with a dress and a makeup kit, you'd probably dive through the window. I know I would."

"Is that the best you can come up with!?" Logan sat up, enraged, his voice dripped with venom. "You know nothing of the pain they can cause!

I was just an ordinary kid once. Then my dad left. Mom threw him out, you see, because she had declared war on men. He was first to go, see?

Then I was next. The way she saw it, I was nothing, a little turd she could use as she pleased. And as if that wasn't enough, my sisters believed that too. They all do. All of them! Whenever they see a guy thing they want to beat it and kick it and stamp on what's left!"

Takeru was taken aback by his rage.

"What did they do to you?"

"Everything you've heard of and some things you haven't. I was a slave, a whipping boy. If they wanted something messy or dangerous done, they made me do it. If they were stressed or angry, they took it out on me."

"That's awful."

"You have no idea. At first it was only my mother. Then she got my sisters to join in. Anya, Mariah, Mina, all of them. I'd tell you more but it would make you sick to your sheltered stomach."

"Sheltered!" Takeru was offended. "My parents got divorced when I was just a little kid! Since then I've hardly seen my brother or my dad, just because my parents couldn't stand to live together any more. What I've been through is no less painful or tragic than what you've been through. I never went bad! Why did you!?"

"Your parents may not have loved each-other any more, but they obviously loved you enough to get divorced so you wouldn't have to listen to them fighting. That's how my Dad saw it too. For my Mom, it was just a way of making sure that Dad wasn't there to protect me. Unlike you, I had nothing left to fall back on. I was alone, always hoping that Dad would come and rescue me, that he'd kick down the door and carry me away. But he never did. 

Then one day, when they were out on one of their little _solidarity evenings_, I saw a light coming from the room where the computer was. I wasn't allowed in there, but I went to take a look anyway.

The screen was glowing; there was white light everywhere. And then…he came."

"Magnus?"

"Yes. He just appeared out of the computer and told me that he had come to take me away. He said that I was special, a Chosen child, and that he had come to show me my destiny.

He took me to the digital world. I met Impmon, and for the first time in so long I had a real friend. Magnus said that Impmon and I could stay together forever, because we were partners. He gave me a new home and a purpose in life. All I had to do in return was serve him. 

How do you repay the person who takes you out of the darkness and into the light? How could I refuse?"

"But what he wanted to do is _wrong_." 

"To you maybe. He wants to change the world, to make it better, to make it so there are no more wars, and no more oppression, no more hunger and no more people like my mother. 

But that's not going to happen any more is it." It was a statement, not a question. "You guys did something to him, and destroyed his dream."

"You don't need him, or his dream. You need to heal, and your family are the best people to help you now."

"No! I can't go back. They'll…hurt me."

"I'm sure they're very sorry."

"Oh they will be, right up to the moment when you've turned the corner at the end of the street. Then it'll start all over again when no one's watching. And no one will believe that they're doing it because it was _such a touching reunion_." 

He sounded very bitter. Takeru, however, had an idea.

"Are you sure? I've got something that might change your mind." He took out his digivice, turned around and spoke into it.

"Patamon, have you got it?"

"Hey I'm coming! This is heavy y'know!" came an indignant reply. A few seconds later there was a heavy knocking on the door. Takeru opened it to find an exhausted-looking Patamon hovering outside, carrying a heavy newspaper. There was a red lump on his head where he had head-butted the door to knock. 

After taking the newspaper and sending Patamon to the Infirmary, Takeru walked over to the bed and handed the newspaper to Logan, who was now sitting on the end of the bed. 

"Read the article with the red circle around it," Takeru said, sitting back down in the chair. Logan's eyes widened as he read.

Anya Stern (19) today renewed her appeal for information regarding the 

whereabouts of her missing brother Logan Stern (11). 

"If anyone knows where our brother is, or has even seen him, then please 

get in touch. We want him back so badly." She also appealed to her brother, 

missing for two years. 

"Logan, if you are somehow reading this, we're sorry, Please come home." 

Logan Stern disappeared under suspicious circumstances two years ago to 

this day. It was later revealed that his mother, a Mrs Miranda Stern (45), had 

previously subjected him to considerable physical and emotional abuse. The 

Inquirer can also reveal that Mrs Stern had recruited her three daughters to 

assist her in her campaign of abuse. 

"I just couldn't believe it," a neighbour told our correspondent. "We suspected 

that something had been going on, but we had no idea things were this bad. 

Those girls always adored their little brother."

Mrs Stern was arrested and sentenced to twenty years imprisonment without 

possibility of leave or parole. She has also received a judicial restraining order

preventing her from contacting her children for life. 

Logan let the newspaper drop to the floor.

"You see," Takeru said eventually, "you've got nothing to fear now. At least let your sisters try and make it up to you."

"Maybe…things would be better," Logan admitted. "But it really doesn't matter any more," he added wistfully.

"Why?"

"I'm dying."

"What?" Takeru couldn't believe what he was hearing. 

"It's true. I haven't got long."  
"But how? Why?" 

"Because Impmon is gone. When he shared his heart with me our life forces became irretrievably linked. We share our strength, and our every feeling. If one should die, then so shall the other. Since Daemon killed him my life force has been draining away."

_"He doesn't know!"_ Takeru thought. _"He doesn't know about the Primary Village!"_

"He's not gone Logan. He's been reconfigured, at the Primary Village."

"Weren't you were supposed to say 'why are you searching for the living among the dead?"

"No! It's true!" 

"Leave me alone! Let me die in peace." Logan fell silent, his face bitter, his eyes resigned. Takeru decided he could do no more and left without a word. He conveniently forgot to lock the door after him.

***

"Hey there!"

Tanya cursed under her breath as 'pinkilocks', as she secretly called her, put her head around the door. Miyako seemed to be in one of those good moods that are as irrepressible as they are unnerving. 

"Mind if I join you?"

"Like I have a choice!"

"But you do have a choice," Miyako said, closing the door behind her. "You're a guest, not a prisoner."

"Don't make me laugh! I've pulled out three bugs already and I_ know_ that there's a security camera in here somewhere. No, I'm your enemy. Therefore I'm your prisoner. Nice and logical."

"You're not my enemy," Miyako tried to sound sincere.

"If you're not, then why won't you let me see Kirinmon!?" she snarled in reply. "If you've hurt him, in any way, I'll do things to all of you that'd make a Devimon take up Ikebana."

Miyako got the sudden and very unpleasant impression that she was alone in a room with a very stressed and very angry girl. She fingered the knife Falco had given her as a precaution, but hoped she wouldn't need it. 

"We haven't hurt him at all. All right I'll tell you the truth. We kept him from you to see how you'd react."

"What!?"  
"We wanted to see if you guys really care about your partners or whether you're just using them. We had to know."

"You! You…manipulative…cruel…"

"Oh so no we're cruel are we? Any more cruel than you were?"

"Cruel? You call that cruel?"

"You hit her."

"I've hit people harder than that, and I've seen people hit each other even harder. I did only what I though necessary."

"Necessary!? Slapping helpless prisoners? Attacking innocent digimon? Enslaving children? What kind of girl are you?"

"I don't know, but I can tell what kind of girl you are. You're the kind of girl who spends all her time yakking about clothes and boys."

"Perfectly normal conversation material for girls our age," Miyako was beginning to understand. "Whereas you, on the other hand, fight deadly battles, operate complex computer equipment and help a disturbingly cute megalomaniac with his world domination scheme. I can understand that you're bored, but still, _how_ can you wear that armour _all_ the time?"

Tanya was wearing the same body armour she'd worn at San Huascar. Close up, Miyako could make out the fluted scrollwork and the intricate script in a language she didn't recognise. It was a work of art, but it still looked uncomfortable.

"It was a gift…from the Master," Tanya replied defensively. "And besides, how can you cope knowing that every time you walk down the street boys and dirty old men are eyeing you up?"

"Oh I _see_! You feel self-conscious because people seem to view you as an object rather than a person." To Miyako, it was making sense. 

"It's worse than that," Tanya's tone had changed. "I'm quite a looker, and my parents noticed it first. Since then, not a moment goes by when I don't have to show it off in some way. They forced me to wear supposedly fashionable clothing that leaves nothing to the imagination. My life was one long line of clothes, makeup and new hairstyles. I know that's kinda hard for you to understand, but being made to do that stuff day in day out can really get old."

"What sort of stuff?"

"Is that wardrobe psychoreactive?"

"I think so."

Tanya walked over to the wardrobe, which could create any outfit a person visualised, opened it and put her hand inside. She pulled something out that, as she had said, left nothing to the imagination.

"Like this."

"Aieeee!"

"And this."  
"Ouch!"

"And this one."

"Scary!"

"And this one too."

"Is that legal!?"

And on and on and on. 

"Wow," Miyako said when she was finished. "I see what you mean now."

"That's why I wear this armour all the time. My parents never listened to me and never let me be what I wanted to be. When Magnus found me, he took me in, he explained everything."

"Like what?"

"That my parents only cared about themselves. They only wanted me so that they could dress me up and show me off. Even if they'd had a boy they'd have probably done the same thing." 

"I can't believe he said that to you!"

"Well it's true! It makes perfect sense."

"It's not true! Your parents just wanted you to look beautiful, but it went to their heads." It was a stab in the dark, but it was all Miyako had at that moment. 

"But they don't care about _me_!" Tanya wailed. "They're not interested in what I'm like on the inside, only on the outside! Everybody thinks I'm a selfish beauty queen and no one ever wants to be my friend!" She turned away, quite distraught. She was hiding it, but Miyako could tell instinctively. She put a comforting hand on Tanya's shoulder.

"I'm your friend, Tanya, and I want to help. I understand what you're going through." Tanya turned around. There were tears in her eyes.

"You mean it?"

"Of course I do." She hugged Tanya, and Tanya hugged back, sobbing unashamedly into her shoulder.

"I think that, deep down, you miss being a girl, but you only feel safe dressed as a boy."

"Uh-huh."

"Well, you can keep the armour if it makes you feel safe, but can I do something with it?"

"Well," Tanya sounded unwilling, "okay. Turn around."

"Why?"  
"Because I'm not wearing anything underneath." Miyako quickly turned around. She heard a strange sound, and then something fell into her hand. She saw it was a digivice. After tapping the switches a few times, she handed back to Tanya; taking care not to turn around until she'd heard the strange noise again. She turned around to admire her work.

Tanya's armour was now curved to fit her female figure. She was staring down at herself in amazement.

"Miyako I, I…er…"

"Don't mention it!" Miyako was grinning. "I've also got a couple more surprises for you," she was glancing nervously at her digivice as she walked towards the door, opened it slightly and peaked through. She smiled and then looked up at Tanya, flinging the door open. 

"Surprise!"

"Kirimon?"

"Tanya!"

***

"So, you joined up with Magnus because you wanted someone to appreciate your talents and he asked you." Ken was surprised to find that Sami and Conrad were not particularly fanatical about Magnus' cause. Unlike Centurion, they had simply been contacted by Magnus and asked for their support. They had no comic book sob story to relate.

"That's right," Sami replied, stroking Kulamon, who was sitting in her lap. Conrad had been allowed to join them, as Ken wanted to see them both. He sat with Psymon.

"But, if you knew what he meant to do, then why did you stay with him?"

"Because," Conrad replied, "we both liked the idea of a world where you be can be yourself. What Magnus wanted to do was destroy all the things that make life bad and turn people evil. Corporations, religious fundamentalism, all that stuff."

"Getting rid of those things won't make the world any better. You can't improve things by forcing people to behave themselves." 

But deep down, Ken understood what was going on. Part of him yearned for such a world, pined for Magnus' vision of a world without malice, greed or hate. 

"Perhaps you're right," Sami said. "But it doesn't matter any more."

Suddenly the door crashed open. They looked up to see Daisuke and Veemon standing in the doorway, their faces panicky.

"What's wrong?"

"Logan's escaped!"

***

"Hello! Welcome to the Primary Village!" called a cheery little voice by Logan's foot. He looked down to see a purple lump sitting in a stone crib. It appeared to be talking. It winced.

"You look awful! Do you need medical attention?"

"No. I…I just came here to find my friend."

"No problem. We get a lot of Chosen children in here! Just walk through the birthing ground and visualise your partner. If your heart is true, you'll find him! Or her."

As Logan walked on, he realised what the little digimon had meant. He felt as though his body was about to collapse. It took everything he had just to keep walking. 

_"Impmon, where are you?" _

There were scores and scores of _digitama _all around, and what seemed like twice as many stone cribs. Apart from being differently patterned, there was nothing to mark out the one he sought.

_"Impmon! Where are you!?"_

He could feel his knees weakening. He struggled on, filling his mind's eye with images and memories. The sweetest moments of his life, all spent with Impmon.

He collapsed, his vision swimming, feeling his organs slowing down. He could barely hear the confused and frightened twittering of the baby digimon all around him.

_"Impmon, I'm so sorry. We wasted our time fighting, and now you'll never get to live again, because my life force is nearly gone."_

And then, when there was no hope left…

_"Logan. Find me." _

Logan forced his eyes to open. He could see a single egg up ahead, somehow different from the others. By force of will, he dragged himself closer, his body screaming, pleading for him to give up so that it could rest. 

But he ignored the pain. Give up now and he would die and Impmon would be as good as dead. Slowly closer, until he could go no further.

He touched the egg, with the tips of his fingers.

And there was light.

Wondering why he had felt so tired, Logan pulled himself to his knees. He looked down into the newly formed stone crib.

"Hi…Logan…it's been a while."

"Feels like forever."

Sitting in the crib as a small purple blob with a yellow face and those familiar pointed ears and green eyes. 

"Yaamon? But how did you…?"

"I dunno. Must be something to do with the whole heart-sharing thing."

"I thought…I'd never see you again."

"What? You thought I'd let you waste away?"

"Yaamon!"

"Logan!"

Logan picked up Yaamon and hugged him tight. The baby digimon trilled in wonder. 

***

As the Chosen ran towards the village, they saw a human figure coming out. A short purple digimon toddled along beside him.

"Logan?" Takeru called.

"Yeah, it's me!" He looked a lot healthier. His short brown hair was shining in the sun, colour had returned to his face and his body looked stronger. 

"So you got the hint?" Takeru asked.

"Yeah. Thanks for that."

"What! _You_ let him out?" Miyako yelled.

"Hey Logan." Tanya came out from behind the Chosen. Logan's eyes widened.

"Tanya? You look…different."

She looked very different. Her features were more pronounced, more noticeable. Also, her hair was plaited into a thick braid, which still reached the floor, and tied at the end with a blue ribbon. She seemed different on an inner level too.

"I thought you hated that stuff."

"Not really. I was just scared. Miyako helped me, and Kirinmon helped too," she added, noticing the look the goat-like digimon was giving her. 

"They want to help, Logan, they really seem to care."

"I know. It's not like anything I'm used to."

The Chosen smiled warmly at them, knowing instinctively what was going on between them. Even Hikari, worried as she was about Chimofu, could not help but be touched. The only difference was that Miyako was staring fixedly at Kirinmon and Impmon.

"So how come you digivolved so quickly?"

"Probably the heart-sharing thing." 

Then they both noticed the looks Miyako was giving them.

"Hey! What's your problem?"

Miyako was trying to hold her breath. Her face went through various shades of purple. Then she could hold it in no more.

"YOU'RE BOTH SO CUTE!" She grabbed them both and hugged them to her, babbling "Oh Ken-chan can I take them home with me!?" They flailed helplessly as Ken tried to disentangle them. 

A little way behind them, Falco and Luke stood with their digimon, watching the comedy unfold.

"Cousin Falco?"

"Yes?"

"Why are they being crazy?"

"Because they're being themselves."

"Oh. Did you know they were this crazy Leomon?"

"If what my second cousin told me is anything to go by, then I think they're worse than the other group."

In the village, a pair of concealed eyes watched the proceedings.

"So it is done, Lupumon. They have found their way."

"Will you miss them?"

"A little. But they joined me of their own free will. They must be permitted to leave me in the same way if that is what they want."

"You let them get captured deliberately didn't you."

"They needed help that I cannot provide. It was what's best for them."

Over on the edge of the village, Patamon suddenly spoke up.

"Hey guys! Have any of you noticed that Ice-cream truck? It's been standing there a long while."

"Ice-cream truck?" They all turned to see.

"OH NO! WE'VE BEEN SPOTTED! GO LUPUMON!"

The ice-cream truck pulled away with a screech of tyres, music playing.

"WAIT!" Daisuke and Veemon ran after the truck. 

"That was Magnus!" Iori yelled.

"What?" Luke looked up suddenly.

"Yes Luke, he's your brother. We've been trying to find him," Hikari said gravely. Luke frowned and folded his arms.

"Now that's just plain silly! What would my brother be doing driving an ice-cream truck?"

(Talk about a crazy ending! Did you like the therapy? Please don't flame me if you didn't! Is Yaamon correct? Please R+R!) 


	19. The fall of an Angel

Disclaimer – I don't own digimon or any other trademarks etc

(My Noble Lords and Ladies, most humbly on my knee I beg your forgiveness for making you wait this long. I've been experiencing problems logging onto FF.net. If this chapter appears, then they have been resolved.) 

Chapter 19

"Can't this thing go any faster?"

"It's an ice cream truck! Not a drag racer!" Lupumon swerved to avoid a pothole. File Island was not known for the quality of its roads. 

"Hey! Get back here!" Magnus looked out through the back window to see Daisuke, mounted on Raidramon, in hot pursuit. "We want ice cream!"

"Well there's one thing," Magnus remarked, "at least he hasn't figured out it's us." 

"We should ditch the truck!" Lupumon called, swerving again to avoid a palm tree that happened to be growing in the middle of the road. 

"Good idea!" Magnus replied. Lupumon jammed on the brakes, bringing the truck to a fast halt. As Daisuke and Raidramon went sailing past, Magnus and Lupumon jumped out and fled into the forest.

A few minutes later, the Chosen, along with Ryo, dodged the palm tree.

"Any sign of them!?" Takeru called to Miyako and Ken, who were up front on Aquilamon.

"No! But I can see the truck!" Miyako replied, the Chosen swooped down to land beside the abandoned truck, their digimon dedigivolving back to their rookie forms. A few seconds later Falco arrived on Chromequumon, accompanied by Alicia on Kyuibimon and Luke sitting on Leomon's shoulder. 

"Is Magnus here?" Alicia asked quickly.

"Why is the truck rocking like that?" Luke asked, staring in confusion at the rocking ice-cream truck. They all looked inside.

Daisuke and Veemon were sitting on the floor, gorging themselves on ice cream, their faces covered in it. They looked up sheepishly.

"You guys want some ice cream?"

As Hikari embarrassed Daisuke by wiping his face and making him count out money for the ice cream, the others searched the area.

"He's not here," Miyako said eventually, emerging from the bushes. "They've both disappeared."

Takeru looked around to see that Luke was sitting off to one side, hugging his knees. He went over to the younger boy and sat down next to him.

"What is it Luke?"

"Why did Magnus run away," Luke's eyes were big, innocent and trusting, but threatening tears. "Doesn't he like me any more?"

"It's not that at all," Takeru put an arm around his shoulder. "He loves you very much, it's just that he thinks that you'll be better off this way."

"How do you know?" His tone was accusing, and heartrendingly familiar. "How do you know he doesn't hate me? If he loved me, then he would have come back to me!" Now there were tears in his eyes. Takeru knew exactly what he was going through.

"Listen," even so, he had never dealt with a crying child before, and it made him nervous. "When I first came to the Digital World with my big brother, I was desperate to please him. I kept thinking that he hated me because I was a crybaby, but he didn't, you see. Even though he didn't act like it, he always cared about me, and Magnus cares about you too."

"Then why did he run away?" He wasn't crying any more, but he still looked confused and afraid.

"Well," Takeru cleared his throat, wondering if this was the right thing to do. "Do you remember when he used to…do things…to you?"

"He didn't mean it!" Luke said quickly. "He didn't mean to hit me. _They_ made him do it!"

"I know. It's just that Magnus is scared that something might have gone wrong with him because of it. He feels very bad about it and he's afraid that he might start hurting you again without meaning to." Luke was silent as he tried to take this in. 

"But I thought…that being a Chosen Child was all about believing in yourself."

"It is. We just need to help Magnus to remember that."

"Then he'll come back to me?"

"I hope so." 

Then all of a sudden his D-3 began to bleep insistently. He pulled it out, and it revealed several red dots closing in. All the other D-3's were bleeping too. 

And then, from out of the sky, they came. 

There were twenty of them. Vaguely humanoid in shape, but hunched over. Black-skinned, red-eyed, leathery-pinioned, gibbering monsters. But it was their leaders, two larger figures dropping out of the sky behind them, who constituted the real threat.

"It's LadyDevimon and SkullSatamon!" Miyako screamed as they came. "But who are the others?"

"They're Homonculimon, Champion level, the foot soldiers of the Daemon Corps," Iori read from his D-analyser. "Their Black Smack attack is unimaginative but deadly!"

"Get ready to digivolve!" Daisuke yelled belligerently. 

There was an embarrassing pause.

"Uh, Daisuke, I can't digivolve."

"What! Why!?"

"**HA HA HA! Because of this!" **SkullSatamon held up a bracelet-sized ring on a chain hanging around his neck.

"MY TAIL RING!" Gatomon was infuriated. "GIVE IT BACK!"

****

"Not a chance little Gatomon," LadyDevimon sneered. **"After all the trouble we went to in order to steal it from Magnus and reconfigure it to seal your digivolution capabilities?** **You'll have to fight us for it!"**

"Fine by us!" Daisuke replied. "We'll just have to use our digimentals instead!"

As one the digimon were covered in white light and changed into their armoured forms.

"Flamedramon! The Fire of Courage!"  
"Nefertimon! The Angel of Light!"

"Shurimon! The Samurai of Sincerity!"

"Digmon! The Drill of Power!"

"Pegasusmon! Flying Hope!"

"Uh, sorry, I don't have an armoured form."

"That's okay Wormmon."

**"This is all you can produce? Five Armoured, Two Ultimates, Two Champions and One Rookie?" **LadyDevimon said in mock surprise.** "Pathetic. Homonculimon! Attack them, but leave us the two Ultimates!" **

The Homonculimon flung themselves upon the Armoured digimon and the battle began in earnest. As Champions and Armoured fought with the gibbering creatures, Cyberdramon and Chromequumon fought LadyDevimon and SkullSatamon respectively. 

The battle started out well enough. Working together, the Armoured digimon were able to destroy four of the Homonculimon within the first minute. However, the superior numbers of the demon digimon began to wear them down.

Cyberdramon was having no luck with LadyDevimon.

"Desolation Claw!"

LadyDevimon dodged gracefully through the blasts until she was at point-blank range.

**"Darkness Wave!"**

The attack knocked Cyberdramon backwards. He fell, roaring, from the sky, his opponent descending after him. He hit the ground with a crash.

"Cyberdramon!" Ryo yelled. He winced when LadyDevimon landed feet-first on Cyberdramon with bone-crushing force. 

A short distance away, Chromequumon was being trounced by SkullSatamon.

**"Skull Hammer!"**

Chromequumon was knocked down one last time. SkullSatamon raised his staff to make the killing blow…

…only to have it blocked by Falco's sword. White Lord and Demon digimon fought viciously, but there was little doubt as to who would win. Falco had not the stamina to outmatch an Ultimate level digimon. No human did.

Falco fell to one knee, puffing and panting, his lungs howling for oxygen. A few feet away, the Chosen partners were knocked to the ground one by one. SkullSatamon stepped closer, raising his staff.

And there was one human who could fight an Ultimate level digimon. SkullSatamon was sent reeling as though swept away by an invisible hand. Falco looked up, but could not quite identify the figure before his vision blurred and the darkness took him. 

"Can't we do anything?" Daisuke cradled Veemon in his arms, snarling with rage as Nefertimon was borne to the ground by six Homonculimon. 

"Fist of the Beast King!" 

Leomon's attack killed two of the Homonculimon and scattered the rest, allowing Kyubimon to dart in and rescue Gatomon. Only eight Homonculimon remained now, but Kyubimon and Leomon were tiring and only Pegasusmon and Digmon could still fight. 

"Gold Rush!"

Another gibbering foe down, but still seven remained to gang up on Digmon.

**"Black Smack!"**

"Star Shower!"

Scratch two more Homonculimon, just enough time for Kyubimon to dart in once again. 

Not enough time. The Homonculimon, maddened by the deaths of their comrades, had not scattered as far as they had earlier. They pounced on Kyubimon as she picked up Armadillomon in her jaws.

"Kyubimon!" Alicia screamed to her partner as the yellow digimon tried to shake off her hideous black assailants. She dedigivolved, but kept on fighting until Leomon managed to extract her and Armadillomon from the press. 

"Nooo!" they squeaked as Leomon kicked them out of the way. "Give back foxie! Yummy yellow foxie!" 

"Disgusting creatures," Leomon growled, casually beheading one as he passed. He laid his charges on the ground with the Chosen and charged at the Homonculimon. 

"Hikari." Hikari looked down. Gatomon's eyes were open, she shifted in her arms, trying to move.

"Gatomon, don't move. Save your energy."

"Hikari. If I could just get my Tail Ring, I might have enough energy to fight."

"Easier said than done." And it was. SkullSatamon showed no signs of fatigue as he approached. Leomon finished the last Homonculimon, and stared up at the black and red behemoth striding towards him. 

"Leomon!" Luke came running up.

"Luke," Leomon whispered, kneeling next to him. "You must stay with Lord Falco and the others. They will take care of you."  
"But…Leomon!" Luke, knowing what he intended to do, clung to his leg in a futile attempt to stop him. As Alicia ran forward to grab Luke and pull him away, Leomon strode towards SkullSatamon, and then stopped a few feet from him.

Leomon reached inside himself, drawing on his last reserves of power. Such an exertion would be dangerous, but if it failed, he would be destroyed anyway.

Part of him wished his Second Cousin Leomon was there, but it was a futile wish. They had probably killed or neutralised every other strong digimon on the island to make this easier. 

"Are you ready SkullSatamon? Here comes this Lion's last roar!" As the Chosen watched impotently from behind, Leomon poured his remaining energy into his right fist. He drew it back, the air catching fire around it.

"FIST OF THE…!" SkullSatamon's staff struck him in the abdominals, knocking the wind from him. By some miracle he was able to hold onto the energy.

"LEOMON!" Luke yelled, struggling as Alicia and Ken tried to hold him back. A grey bundle was flung from the trees to land next to Leomon. It was Cyberdramon, broken and defeated, promptly dedigivolving to Monodramon. 

**"Hurry up and finish them off SkullSatamon!" ** LadyDevimon called, strolling out of the trees. SkullSatamon raised his staff one last time. The Chosen gasped as one, knowing this was the end.

**"Skull Ham…"**

"Lupu Lariat!" 

A blue energy boomerang flew from nowhere and smashed into the staff, causing it to smash into the ground next to Leomon's head. A blur was then upon him, ramming a shining white blade into his midriff. SkullSatamon screamed as the blade was torn from him. 

Time seemed to slow down. SkullSatamon fell backwards as his attacker sliced through the chain around his neck and then leapt away, somersaulting and kicking the ring towards Hikari and Gatomon. 

As it came closer, Gatomon leapt from Hikari's arms, stretching out her tail to catch it. 

It slid onto her tail.

And there was light. Nothing but light. LadyDevimon screamed a banshee scream, averting her eyes as the light burned her corrupted soul.

But Leomon could see perfectly. He could see SkullSatamon standing there, trying to cover his eyes. Blind and vulnerable. There would be no better opportunity. 

"FIST OF THE BEAST KING!"

The blast tore through the fading white light. SkullSatamon had no time to dodge or raise a defence. The blast hit him, destroying him utterly. 

LadyDevimon stared in shock, and then looked down to see her worst nightmare soaring towards her.

"I BEAT YOU BEFORE! I'LL BEAT YOU AGAIN!"

"ANGEWOMON! NO!"

"CELESTIAL ARROW!"

LadyDevimon was speared through the ribs. She doubled over from the force of it, as Myotismon had once done. She screamed her terrible scream one last time as she shattered into glittering fragments. 

Angewomon descended to cheering from the Chosen. 

"Angewomon! You're the best!" Hikari called out.

"Yeah! You defeated LadyDevimon!" Takeru was equally pleased. Leomon managed to pull himself to his feet and pat Angewomon on the shoulder. With a squeal of relief and delight, Miyako jumped into Ken's arms.

"Oh Ken! I thought we were all going to die!"

"Look!" Ryo yelled suddenly. They all turned to where Falco and Ponymon were lying unconscious. The figure that had attacked SkullSatamon was kneeling beside them, his hands outstretched over them, a tall blue digimon standing beside him. An eerie white luminescence covered them for a few moments. Then it faded, and the figure stood up. The Chosen gasped. 

"Magnus?" Ken was incredulous.

"YAY! MY BROTHER'S COME BACK TO ME!" Luke ran to Magnus, arms outstretched. Magnus knelt to hug him. 

"There there, little one."

"I've missed you so much. I thought I'd never see you again." Then Magnus looked up and saw the Chosen approaching. He broke the hug and stood up, his gentle expression twisting into the familiar icy mask. 

"You did remarkably well, Chosen children. Not only did you defeat them all, but none of you were killed."

"We couldn't have done it without you Magnus," Hikari replied. 

"There is worse to come, however. This was simply a test of your power and your motivation. The Dark Champion awaits. The ultimate showdown will soon take place. I for one will make my stand at Black Spire, for Daemon must not be allowed to have the Relic."

"We'll fight too," Daisuke said belligerently. "I've been waiting to take another shot at Daemon!"

"We too will stand," Falco stood up, healed by Magnus' power. 

"But we cant' fight them both!" Miyako spoke up, her voice panicky. "We barely were able to get rid of Daemon the first time. We can't fight him _and_ the Dark Champion!"

"But we have to," Hikari said. "If we don't fight, then he'll get the Relic for sure. If we resist, at least we'll have tried."

"I suggest that you return home and put your affairs in order. You may not survive the battle that is to come. I estimate that you have twenty-four hours." 

The hearts of the Chosen sank. The possibility of death had always been with them, with some more than others, but seemingly inevitable death was new to them. It didn't bear thinking about. Magnus knelt in front of Luke.

"Luke, I need you to stay with them for now."

"Are you going away again?"

"Yes."

"Will I ever see you again?"

"If we survive, I promise I'll visit you whenever I can." After one last hug, Magnus walked over to stand next to Lupumon.

"Wait!" Ken shouted after him. "Magnus! Don't leave! We need you!"

"You do not need me. My powers are largely gone. This last fight sapped my strength considerably. The future of the both worlds is in your hands now."

"At least let me make it up to you Magnus. I've hurt you, corrupted you, made you who you are now. All I want is to help you deal with that." Magnus stared at him for a long time, looking slightly forlorn.

"You did not make me, Ken. All you did was let loose darkness that already existed. You are not to blame for my flaws."

"Magnus," Alicia ran up to him and grabbed his arm. "Stay with us. Don't leave me alone again."

"Alicia," Magnus looked into her eyes, her beautiful green eyes. "It's better this way. Maybe later…we'll meet again. If not…then it won't really matter." He took her hand, kissed it, then let go and stepped backwards until he was next to Lupumon. A translucent blue sphere surrounded them, and they lifted into the air and flew away. 

********

Agony. 

Desolation.

Despair.

Defeat.

Hung on black metal chains, blood caked about his wrists and ankles, clothes torn to reveal scars upon scars.

His wings hung broken, drooping like a kicked puppy's tail.

His name…was Chimofu.

He was not always like that. Until a few moments earlier, he'd had some defiance left, some hope that his one true love would find away to rescue him.

Until he found that it wasn't going to happen.

She'd told him so herself.

_"We're not here to rescue you. Why should we bother?"_

"But…Hikari…"  
"Don't 'but' me! You're pathetic! Lying around here hoping I'd come and save you. Hanging like a cut of meat thinking I'd actually want to help."

"Hikari…why? What have I done to deserve this?"

"You entered my life. You nearly ruined it, like you ruined every other life you've ever entered. Think of all those dead men, women and children, I was nearly one of them. Some angel you were."

"But…you said you loved me."

"Don't bother with that old cliché! Hikari has only one love interest, and that's me."

"Always you Takeru. You're the only real man here."

"But why lie?"

"Now that's actually quite funny, because we were hoping, since you've got all that dark power inside, that you could reduce our workloads a little."

"Yeah, being a Chosen child is stressful work, so if we made you putty in Hikari's hands, then you could do our jobs for us."

"But, since you weren't able to escape, it's pretty obvious that you're no use to anyone, you winged freak."

"And you're doubly pathetic because you actually fell for it. You never had the strength of character to just be alone, even to save lives."

"And now, if you'll excuse us, we've got a dinner reservation and we can't be late."

"See ya around, loser!"

And so they had left, leaving him to hang there, alone. Hours upon hours. Just steaming away in his misery. 

Then came the anger and the hate. He hated himself first, for his idiotic obsession with love. He hated love after that, for being so fickle and easily faked. After that, he hated everything else in turn. He hated everything the Chosen held dear, everything anyone else held dear, then he hated people who also hated those things. Eventually there was only one thing left to hate.

"CURSE YOU YAGAMI HIKARI! YOU MADE ME LOVE YOU! YOU LIED TO ME! I'LL PUNISH YOU!"

__

**"**My my, what passion," said a voice like the rustle of pages of forbidden lore. A shapeless red robe appeared in front of Chimofu, eyes glowing from under the hood.

_"I told you, didn't I, that they would betray you. Did I not say, that their feelings were false."_ The voice seemed to be coming from inside his own head.

"You were right," Chimofu's voice was hoarse. "She never loved me. They never cared. All they wanted was my power."

__

"I have a simple solution to your problem. I can give you the means by which you may take revenge, but I will need you to get something for me when you're finished. Have we an understanding?"

"I'll do anything you ask. Anything! Just give me the power!"

"As the robe moved closer, a strange light surrounded Chimofu.

_"What did she do to you?"_

"She betrayed me!"

"_What is Light?"_

"Darkness!"

_"What is Hope?"_

"Despair!"

_"What is Purity?"_

"Corruption!"

_"What is Knowledge?"_

"Ignorance!"

"_What is Reliability?"_

"Failure!"

_"What is Friendship?"_

"Insincerity!"

_"What is Courage?"_

"Cowardice!"

"_What is Kindness?"_

"Cruelty!"

_"AND WHAT IS LOVE?"_

****

"HATRED!"

And then the chains fell away.

Armour shone glossy black in the unnatural light. Black metal pinions spread.

"_A most impressive transformation Chimofu. Everything I expected."_

**"Chimofu is no more. There is only…AKUTENSHIMON!"**

(Scary! Please don't flame me if SkullSatamon and LadyDevimon should be already dead, I've never seen those episodes so I don't know. Until next time, please R+R!)

****


	20. Arise Dark Champion!

Disclaimer – None of the trademarks are mine! There! I said it! 

(Thank you to everyone for reviewing. This next part is one I've dreaded having to write, but I'll do my best. Sorry if it isn't very good, but any constructive critique you can offer will be much appreciated. Also my apologies for making you all wait so long. Things haven't been easy recently. Well, here goes!)

Chapter 20

The waters roiled and crashed, waves bigger than skyscrapers rising and falling as the thunder crashed and lightning split the sky.

Portents of coming doom.

A few miles away, from the perfect vantage point at the top of Black Spire, Magnus watched the maelstrom, his cape billowing in the wind. 

He knew what would soon happen.

He hoped that the Chosen had heard his call.

For, ashamed as he was to admit it, he could not win this battle without their help.

Magnus was stirred from his reverie by a warm hand on his shoulder. He looked up to see Lupumon standing beside him. 

"Can you feel it Lupumon?"

"Yes Magnus, I can. The entire Digital World is being affected by it."

"I do not think we will survive, Lupumon, he is too powerful."

"Don't say that Magnus. We can win if we try hard enough."

"And if not, I will correct my mistake by any means necessary."

"Magnus!" Lupumon was shocked. "You don't mean to…?"

"It's my fault that Daemon got hold of the boy." Magnus hung his head. "It is my responsibility to put an end to Daemon's scheme. Only victory, or death, will be enough." There was silence, until Lupumon cleared his throat.

"Then I'll make the same pledge Magnus. If you die, then I die. Anything rather than break our bond again."

This tore at Magnus' heart. Only recently had he realised what pain he had caused Lupumon by rejecting him, by rejecting his love. All Lupumon ever seemed to want was to be with him. 

His mind began to wander, back to the day when they'd first met.

_"Who are you? What are you?"_

"I am a digimon, short for digital monster. My name is Lupumon, and your name is Magnus."

"How did you know?"

"Because I am your partner for life. You are a Chosen Child of the Digital World, called to defend it from evil. I am ordained to stand beside you, to guard you and to comfort you. I am your friend, and for as long as we are both alive, you will never be alone again."

"But…why me? There are stronger children, braver children than I. What have I to offer?"

"You have strength you have not yet seen, and a gift that none of us can comprehend. And as for other children, where they have selfishness, you have selflessness. Where they have anger, you have sweetness. Where they have hatred, you heart knows love. The light inside you has made you worthy, for it is the power to make me stronger, and in return I shall make you whole. All I want from you is your love."

Magnus steeled himself as the memories of their first meeting swamped his mind. The adventures, the good times.

Their battles with the Digimon Emperor. His corruption, his becoming the Emperor's Seneschal, charged to maintain his domain, and then the Master.

That first speech replayed over and over again, tearing his heart to shreds.

_"How could I have treated him so? How could I have treated Lupumon that way? He is…my only friend."_

He felt warm all of a sudden, despite the pain in his heart, remembering the first time when Lupumon had stretched out his arms and held him close.

_"In spite of everything, he still came. Even though those days turned me evil, still he appeared to me, and to me alone. It didn't matter how evil I'd become at the hands of my parents._

Maybe, whoever-it-was thought Lupumon could change me. Perhaps they were right."

His mind returned to the here and now, Magnus suddenly realised that he still felt warm. He felt two long things squeezing him, his head laid against something fluffy.

He broke the hug, gently, stepping backwards as Lupumon let him go.

"What was that for?"

"You were crying. Your bad memories came back, so I thought it might help." Magnus touched his cheek, found it was wet, and turned away from Lupumon, his face burning with shame. Lupumon seemed to sense his humiliation, and so came forward and laid a paw on his shoulder. Magnus did not resist.

"You don't need to be embarrassed or ashamed Magnus. There's nothing wrong with love, and nothing wrong with having feelings."

"I cannot be weak now Lupumon. This is a time for strength!"

"Having feelings _is_ strength, and showing them is _a sign_ of strength. Nothing is worth sacrificing who you are."

"Are you saying," Magnus looked back at Lupumon, sweeping his arm around to encompass the panorama, "that these two worlds are worth less than a few trivial affections?"

"They are not trivial!"

"They are! And there is only one thing in my life that is not trivial, apart from my resolve!"

"And that is?" Lupumon sounded resentful.

"You." There was another pause, as Lupumon stared into his human partner's eyes.

"Do…do you…do you really mean that?"

"You know that I do." And for the first time in a long while, Magnus actually smiled.

His smile turned to a frown. He looked back to the maelstrom, saw a dense, black whirlpool open in the crashing waters…

…and then he saw it, rising from inside the whirlpool.

Magnus knew that the time was now. He raised his gauntlet and pressed the button, hoping the Chosen would respond to the recognition signal.

His Digi-gauntlet contained, as well as the functions of a digivice, a variety of useful features. Magnus hoped that this particular one had worked.

Resigned to the inevitable, he readied himself, feeling his powers rise within him.

"Are you ready Lupumon? Our day of reckoning is at hand."

********

After only a few minutes, though it seemed like an age to Koushiro, the Chosen gathered in the Computer Lab. All the Chosen of Japan, older and younger, united for a battle that might be their last. 

The day when they would face not only the Dark Champion, but Daemon too, had finally arrived. 

And things were not going well.

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAT!? NOTHING? NONE OF THEM?"

"I'm afraid so Yamato-kun." Koushiro replied, wiping the spittle from his face, and waving away Sora's attempts to wipe for him. "Every country is being attacked. I've received reports from every Chosen Child in the world saying that they're under attack by swarms and swarms of Homonculimon. They've got it under control but they won't be able to help us for some time."

"So," Jyou said, rather despondently. "We're going to face the two most powerful digimon who have ever existed, and we're the only ones who are going to do it."

"Yep!"

"Oh why wouldn't they let me take out a life insurance plan!? How are our families going to pay for our funerals!?"

"That's enough of that talk!" Taichi stepped up, fire in his eyes. "We're not going to lose! We've got WarGreymon and we've got MetalGarurumon too! So that's enough talk about funerals and life-insurance policies! I've never needed them, and neither do any of you!"

The Chosen, including Jyou, sent up a raucous cheer, though there was luckily no one else around to hear it. Hikari was the only one who didn't join in. She just looked as worried as always.

"Hikari-kun? What's wrong?" Takeru tried to look her in the eyes, but she wouldn't meet his gaze. She just looked as though something was bothering her deep inside.

"Uh, Taichi-senpai, did something go wrong at home?" Daisuke asked tentatively.

"No, nothing," Taichi replied, also worried by his sister's despondency. "Mom and Dad took it pretty well, all things considered."

Getting his parents to understand had not been easy, but that was nothing compared to what some of the others had dealt with. Whereas some parents, such as Mr and Mrs Takenouchi, refused to believe what was going on, others, like Daisuke's family, took it as an excuse to let out feelings previously left unsaid. And if that wasn't all, getting Jun to let go of Chibimon had been a real challenge.

Iori's little experience had been by far the worst. Though his grandfather had accepted that Iori was doing his duty, his mother had not. Taichi had heard her from the ground floor of the apartment building, and it had struck him how terrible it must have been for a woman who'd already lost her husband to consider the possibility of losing her only son too.

After a few minutes of genuine empathy, his normal self had hit the override switch. It suddenly occurred to him how pathetic the 'soldier's widowed mother' act had been. Saying so had earned him a slap from Hikari and a reminder of how insensitive he could be sometimes.

His thoughts suddenly turned to Ken, and he wondered how Mr and Mrs Ichijouji would have reacted. How would they have felt knowing that the son they'd only just found again might leave them permanently? 

He then realised that Ken wasn't in the room.

"Uh guys? Where's Ken-kun?"

"He hasn't shown up yet," Iori was standing by the door, seeming a little nervous. "Neither has Miyako-san!" he said, just a little too quickly.

Ignoring Iori and Upamon's frantic attempts to block the doorway, Ken and Miyako stood a short distance down the darkened hall, the lights having been turned off to avoid arousing suspicion. Beyond the window rain splashed against the glass and the thunder cracked in the sky.

It was as though the coming of the Dark Champion was affecting the real world too.

But Ken did not notice or care. For though the only light was the flashes of lightning, Miyako still looked beautiful. Beautiful and afraid.

"Oh Ken-chan, is this really it?"

"Maybe, my koi, but I hope not." He held her close, stroking her hair, wishing that he could shield her from what was coming. 

"Oh Ken-chan! Why did this have to happen now? There's so much we haven't done yet! So much I want to say!" She buried her head in his chest. Ken kissed her hair, held her tighter, and whispered soothing nothings in her ear. 

"We have to be strong now Miyako-chan. We have to make it through. We can win if we try hard enough, and then we'll be together."

"BUT WHAT IF YOU DIE?" Miyako stared into his face, her eyes brimming with tears. "What if you die, and leave me alone. Where would I be? What would I do? I can'tlive without you Ken-chan!"

"Nor I without you Miyako-chan. If you were to die, I would see no point in life." 

"No Ken-chan, you have to," Miyako's tone became more forceful. "Your heart is so full of love, you can't let that go to waste. You have to share it, share it with someone who'll love you as I always will. In the end, you'll be with whoever loved you most." Ken paused at this, and there was silence for a few moments.

"Miyako-chan?"

"Yes Ken-chan?"

"If I…" Ken gave a nervous laugh, and Miyako was sure he was blushing. "If we were older…and I were…were to ask you…would you say yes?"

"What are you talking about!?" Ken recoiled, looking both embarrassed and hurt by her reaction.

"Okay, it was a stupid question! I'm…!"

"Of course I'd say yes! Ken-chan no baka!" They embraced, one last time, then broke away and headed towards the computer lab, Minomon and Poromon falling into step beside them.

********

Thousands of miles away, it was also a thunderstorm. 

In a relatively unobtrusive house in a Chicago suburb, Logan Stern sat on his bed, Impmon lying against his chest, listening to the rain pattering against the window. 

He was wearing only a pink bathrobe, for his only set of clothes was in the wash downstairs. His other clothes had been unfit for a human being to wear, and that was just his own clothes.

They had been burnt by Anya, shortly after Mrs Stern had been 'removed' by the police. She and her eldest daughter had not got on well for the past few years. Logan's disappearance had been the final straw.

The minute she was gone, Anya had collected Logan's moth-eaten rags, the humiliating 'punishment' clothes, the various 'discipline' implements she and her sisters had helped to invent and make. They had been burnt in the back yard.

It had been Anya's way of saying that her mother would control them no more, but it meant that when Logan did return, he had literally nothing to wear.

Not that it really mattered. The pink bathrobe loaned from Mariah would do. He was content to sit on the bed, propped on pillows, holding Impmon against him, stoking his silky ears.

Impmon was content too, more content than he'd been for as long as he'd been Logan's partner. In his mind he could hear Logan's heart beating, and felt that he was happy.

And so, he was happy too. 

It was difficult to describe, no less than it was difficult to understand, but the feeling was undeniable. He did not wish to let go, he didn't want to break out of that comforting warmth.

He did not hate Logan for the pain he had once felt. He had done it of his own free will. He had joined his life force with Logan's own because he had wanted to save Logan's life.

And this was the good side of that most special of bonds. They shared each other's strength, and each other's every pain and joy. 

"Logan?" It was Mariah, putting her head around the door. "Is everything okay?"

"No problems."

"Can I come in?"

"Sure." Mariah entered and sat on the end of the bed. She reached over to tickle Impmon behind the ears. Impmon thought of resisting, but felt no apprehension from Logan and decided to trust his instincts. 

"You know, don't you? She's not coming back." Logan knew from her self-conscious tone what she meant. 

"I know. I'm sorry."

"Don't be. Anya explained everything. We're the ones who should be sorry."

"No, it was my fault," Logan felt the old feelings arise again, the feelings _she_ had put there. "It was something about me that drove her crazy. I know how much you all loved her."

"No it wasn't. There was something wrong with her all along. We just didn't see it until it was too late." She looked away, making Logan suspicious.

"Mariah? What's wrong?" She turned around again, tears in her eyes.

"Oh Logan! I'm so sorry!" Before Logan could dodge, Mariah reached over and hugged him, not realising that she was squishing Impmon.

"Uh guys? Guys! LET ME OUTTA HERE!" 

********

"What's that in the sky?" Taichi pointed up to a series of bright flashes in the cloudy sky. They stood on the summit of Black Spire, and inside the bowl lay a huge black metal dome. 

The Eye of Nightmares.

After a few more flashes, something appeared out of the cloud bank. It descended slowly, growing from a tiny black dot into a humanoid shape. 

Eight feet tall. Covered in plated black armour with silver edges and detail, black wings, each feather made of some dark metal, spread to bear the figure to the ground.

"Is that…?"

"Akutenshimon," Koushiro replied, reading from his analyser, his soul filling with dread. "The Anointed champion of the Powers of Darkness. His Razor Feathers and Asura Kataki attacks allow no resistance."

The figure landed, opposite them, on the other side of the great bowl. They could now see him fully, including the huge sword strapped to his back. 

**"I am death come for thee." **His voice was like the end of the world. 

"We know who you are," Taichi's fists were clenched. "And we know what you've come here to do. We won't let you open the Eye!" Akutenshimon, his face covered by a full helm with a glowing red visor, reminding them uncomfortably of the Reborn, surveyed the assembled Chosen.

**"You cannot be serious." **

"You haven't seen us at full power!" Daisuke cut in. "You think you're so tough? Well it's time for a taste of Jogress digivolution!"

Akutenshimon watched dispassionately as three pairs of digimon leapt into the air and fused, emerging as Ultimate level digimon. He watched, tapping his foot as Agumon and Gabumon warp digivolved to WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon. He even snorted when the remaining elder Chosen's partners digivolved to their champion forms. 

**"You must be joking," **he said derisively, surveying the digimon arrayed before him. 

"Well the joke's on you now!" Taichi pointed at Akutenshimon. "WarGreymon! Get him!"

WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon leapt at Akutenshimon, along with the Champions and the Ultimates.

It took three seconds. Slash, chop, kick. He didn't even have to draw his sword.

The champions were flung to the ground, dedigivolving as they went. Paildramon and Shakkoumon managed to stay in form, but were somewhat worse for wear. Only the two megas survived.

"Unbelievable!" Daisuke stared as the elder Chosen ran to help their partners.

"Not to worry!" Taichi replied, "he hasn't won yet!"

WarGreymon, realising that his close-combat attacks were useless, jumped high into the air and raised his arms.

"Terra Force!"

The energy ball shot straight at Akutenshimon with unerring aim. The dark digimon caught the blast in one hand, did a pirouette on the spot and sent the ball flying back up towards WarGreymon. It struck and exploded.

"WARGREYMON! NOOOOOOOOO!" Taichi's cry echoed among the mountains as the battered form of his partner fell from the sky, beaten by his own attack. Paildramon and Shakkoumon managed to catch him, but moments later he was Agumon again. 

MetalGarurumon stared up at Akutenshimon. "My turn! Giga Missile!"

Small hatches opened all over MetalGarurumon's body, from which flew a hail of whistling missiles. Their pencil trails criss-crossed through the sky towards Akutenshimon, who dodged nimbly as they exploded. MetalGarurumon continued to reload, trying to keep the pressure on, explosions lighting up the sky.

But it was doing no good. MetalGarurumon was exhausting himself, using vital energy to generate new missiles, and it wasn't even slowing Akutenshimon down.

Eventually, growing tired of the farce, Akutenshimon dived at his opponent, and sent him tumbling end over end. He came to a stop, dedigivolving as Yamato ran to him. 

**"Anyone else?"**

"I can't believe it," Taichi said hoarsely, cuddling Agumon in a very out-of-character way. "We failed, just like that."

"It's not over yet," Yamato replied. "It's up to them now." He gestured at the younger Chosen, who were yelling defiance at Akutenshimon. Daisuke looked to Ken.

"Ready?"

"Ready."

Akutenshimon almost seemed bored as the Ultimates digivolved to Imperialdramon, Valkyrimon and Vikemon. 

**"And you are?"**

"Going to make you pay," Daisuke was adamant, looking more like Taichi than ever. "We're not going to let you ruin the entire Digital World!"

"That's right!" Miyako put in. "If you give Daemon the Relic, then no one will be safe! He'll destroy everything! Do you really want that?"

**"Why do you care who gets the Relic? Why should you care about anything?"**

"Because we're Chosen children!" Ken replied. "We're supposed to care!" 

**"Oh really? Your purpose is to care? HYPOCRITES!" **The Chosen were flung backwards by the force of his fury. His visor glowing brighter than ever, Akutenshimon pointed at Hikari.

**"You and your lover most of all, Yagami Hikari, are everything that you claim not to be!"**

"What do you mean!?" Hikari was confused, made worse by the horrible feeling of recognition in the back of her mind. "How do you know my name?"

**"Why ask a question to which you already know the answer. Is not my name a clue?"**

Hikari looked utterly terrified, her eyes widening in recognition.

"No! NO! You can't be…!" Hikari began to shudder uncontrollably.

**"Once, but no longer. Chimofu is gone and only I remain."**

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?" Miyako's eyes almost popped out of her head. "YOU'RE CHIMOFU?"

"But why?" Takeru was visibly shocked, suddenly remembering what Daisuke had been like when he discovered that Ken had been the Digimon Emperor. "Why are you fighting us? We're your friends!"

**"Don't lie to Akutenshimon!" **the Dark Champion spat, pointing his finger at Takeru. **"It was you who destroyed Chimofu with your treacherous scheming! You and that whore!" **

"Don't you dare call my sister a whore!" Taichi was enraged, but powerless to do anything.

**"It is the truth, for I have seen the truth, and thus I know the truth. Your sister has failed, and has doomed you all!"**

"What are you talking about!?" Hikari looked utterly heartbroken, tears running down her face. "I love you!"

**"You lie to Akutenshimon to save yourself! Your weapons are no longer effective! You professed love for Chimofu before, and then abandoned him when he needed you! I hope that you and Takeru enjoyed your dinner date, because it was your last!" **

"Okay, now I'm confused. You two had a dinner date?" Daisuke looked quizzical.

"NO!" Takeru yelled. "He's lying!"

"You were two-timing him?" Miyako looked at Hikari, unable to believe what she had just heard.

"I DIDN'T! CHIMU-CHAN I LOVE YOU! WE TRIED TO SAVE YOU BUT…" then Hikari's voice trailed away. What excuses could they give? Magnus was too powerful? We were too inept to figure out why Magnus had captured you and where Daemon might be hiding? Too preoccupied to attempt a rescue? 

"Enough talk!" Valkyrimon loomed overhead, her voice dripping with venom. "It's obvious that you're beyond reason, Dark Champion. If you can look at _her_" she pointed at Hikari, "and take her love for lies, then nothing anyone says will make you listen! Time for the beating of your life!"

**"Foolishness. You had best retreat, lest I dispose of you as I disposed of your irritating nemesis."**

"Magnus?" Ken was horrified. "You didn't…?"

**"Of course not! I would not waste precious milliseconds of my time needed to snuff out so small and meaningless a life! He is very much alive, but in no condition, I think, to provide you with any assistance."**

"Valkyrimon's right! Enough blabbering!" Imperialdramon dropped into a combat stance. "LET'S GET DIGITAL!"

"But we've got Digital already." Vikemon spoke up. "Hundreds of channels and still nothing to…"

"JUST SHUT UP AND ATTACK, OKAY!"

As the three megas piled into combat against Akutenshimon, the Chosen were forced to retreat by the sheer force of the battle. They managed to climb down into the crags around the Eye, but a strange mist was all around them, and soon they became separated, with only the sounds of the battle above to give any sense of direction. They wandered through the maze of gullies, clutching their digimon, trying to find each other. 

Imperialdramon struck out with a left hook, but Akutenshimon dodged the fist that was as large as himself. He brought his armoured fists together, swung and cracked Imperialdramon on the jaw, lifting him further into the air. Valkyrimon moved in.

"Fenrir Sword!"

By chance, or perhaps by providence, the blow connected, smashing Akutenshimon down. As he fell, his wings spread and he glided up and away, avoiding a furious follow-up by Valkyrimon. His pull-out brought him head-on with Vikemon, who saw his chance.

"Arctic Blizzard!"

The attack had no effect. Vikemon stared in horror as Akutenshimon steadied himself, then bent in his wings.

**"Razor Feathers!"**

The wings straightened quick as a whip, sending a flurry of gleaming black flechettes at Vikemon. He fell back under the onslaught, the feathers driving into him and detonating to hurl him back even further. Vikemon collapsed, smoke rising from where the feathers had impacted. 

"Are you all right Vikemon?" Valkyrimon called.

"I'm okay! Just…toasted!" Vikemon tried to sound confidant, but he didn't feel that way. 

Down beside the Eye, Taichi had managed to haul himself up the wall of one of the gullies, giving himself and Agumon a view of the battle, so long as it was on this side of the Eye. The dome itself was monolithic, almost seeming bigger when viewed from lower down.

"Taichi-chan," Agumon moaned, his eyes fluttering open.

"It's okay boy," Taichi stroked his partner's head, ignoring his use of the rather personal suffix. "You did your best." He looked up at the battle, "That's one sick puppy up there."

"And a strong one," Agumon replied softly. "He's more powerful than any digimon ever has been ever. Even stronger than…than Quinlongmon." Taichi stroked Agumon some more, and then wondered how on earth the Chosen were to succeed.

Akutenshimon continued to trade blows with Imperialdramon, and was proving the better fighter. Imperialdramon was mighty among Mega-level digimon, but seemingly no match for the champion of evil. Still Akutenshimon had not been forced to use his sword. 

"Positron Laser!"

Yet even that was not enough. The beam struck Akutenshimon, but seemed to diffuse around him, fanning out and away into the sky. Akutenshimon took a stable position, arms spread wide, a red corona burning around him and making the silver scrollwork of his armour shine. He crossed his arms brought them down, then up to a point above his head, then pointed them forward, a pentagram of crimson light glowing where his hands had passed.

**"Asura Kataki!" **

The crimson blast hit Imperialdramon, knocking him from the sky with a long low groan. He shed silvery motes as he fell, until he was Minomon and Chibimon once more. They vanished into the mists, as the cries of Daisuke and Ken echoed through the gulleys. 

Valkyrimon rushed him one last time, only to be grabbed, swung around and hurled down, smashing into the dome and rolling down into the mist. The wounded Vikemon proved even easier to finish off. As he lay moaning on the ground, Akutenshimon picked him up, raised him over his head, and hurled him into the mist to join his companions. That done, and seeing no other foes, Akutenshimon flapped his wings and lifted into the air, gliding over to the very top of the dome. 

Ken fell to his knees, taking Minomon into his armsand hugging him tight. It was miraculous that the little digimon had survived his fall, and even greater a miracle that Ken had been able to find him in this maze of narrow gullies. 

"Minomon, it's okay. I'm here." He stroked Minomon gently; hating the way that Minomon was suffering and wishing that his love would somehow heal the little digimon's wounds. 

"Ken-chan? Is that you?" Minomon opened his eyes and stared up at Ken. "I'm sorry Ken, he was too strong."

"You and Chibimon did your best, like all the others." Ken grinned to reassure him.

"You are knights among knaves," came a voice from behind. "Angels among Demons, to fight so terrible a creature." Ken looked up with a start.

Magnus appeared out of the mist behind him, but it was not the Magnus that Ken remembered.

His tight fitting black shirt and pants were torn in several places, dark blood crusted around the holes. His exposed skin was singed and bruised and covered in cuts. He limped forward, with his right hand planted over a spot just beneath his heart. Blood dribbled between his fingers, and from his eyes, nostrils and ears. 

But still his eyes flashed with fire. He was down, but not out.

"Magnus," Ken went pale at the sight of his nemesis. "What happened to you? Where's Lupumon?"

"Lupumon is resting," Magnus replied sourly. "He suffered in the battle, but he is in no danger."

"Here," Ken held out a hand. "Let me help you."

"No!" Magnus slapped the hand away. "I will not, _cannot_, give in now."

"Magnus, you're _hurt_! You may have forgotten, but you're not all-powerful any more. You're made of flesh and blood like the rest of us."

"I am _not like you!_" Magnus snarled. "I am unlike any of you! I will endure!" He tried to push past but Ken moved to block him, Minomon jumping onto Ken's shoulder.

"You can't go on like this," Magnus tried to push him away, but his legs buckled and he fell forward into Ken's arms, gasping for breath. Ken knelt, turning Magnus over and cradling him. 

"It's all right Magnus. Everything's gonna be okay. What happened to you anyway?" Magnus' eyes opened, and Ken could see the weariness and the pain more clearly.

"If you knew…what I knew…then you'd know…what must be done," Magnus croaked, coughing as he did. 

"Magnus, did you…?" Ken's eyes grew wide as he realised what Magnus had tried to do.

"Yes," he replied. "I did, and I know what happened." He coughed some more, and Ken tried to wipe the blood from his face. The bleeding had stopped, but he seemed weaker that ever. "I alone know why Chimofu is behaving as he is, why he has become Akutenshimon.

"You tried to attack his mind."

"As I did with you, shortly before your unfortunate and unexpected trip away from the mortal plane. I made you take the Power Ring, and I thought I could make Chimofu stop."

"What happened?"

"The conditioning his mind has undergone is stronger than anything I have ever dealt with. And his pain…" he stopped, his face full of sorrow. "It was like jumping into a pool of acid. The anguish, the betrayal, the hate…the feedback almost killed me. It took all my energy to make these rudimentary repairs to my body, and to save Lupumon." 

Ken stroked Magnus' face with his fingers, in a way he sometimes did to soothe Minomon. Even after all this, even after everything that had happened, he wished that he could ease Magnus' pain. Ken was no stranger to sorrow and grief, having lost his brother at an early age and suffered considerable tribulations even after that, but it seemed so trivial compared to what Magnus had suffered. He remembered a picture Falco had shown him, of Magnus and Luke from several years previously.

_"They both looked so cute. They were beautiful children. How could their parents have treated them like that?"_

A couple of tears splashed onto Magnus' face. Magnus shuddered a little.

And then his wounds began to close.

Ken stared wide-eyed as the cuts sealed and the bruises faded. Magnus pulled himself to his feet, looking as good as new. 

"How did you..?"

"You have a lot of positive energy Ken. I hope you don't mind me borrowing some." Magnus touched his forefinger to Minomon. He glowed, turned white, then expanded. The light faded revealing…

"Wormmon!"

As Ken hugged his freshly digivolved partner, Magnus turned to look at the Eye. Ken followed his gaze to the top of the dome. There stood Akutenshimon, lightning crackling around him.

"He is about to open the Eye of Nightmares, and claim the Bracelet of Cherubimon."

"We've failed," Ken shuddered as the realisation sunk in, drowning his euphoria at the show of Magnus' power. "We screwed up." 

In the blink of on eye, it had all gone to hell. The Chosen had not been strong enough to stop the Dark Champion, and pretty soon Daemon would be even more powerful. All was lost.

"There is only one way to stop him now," Magnus was grim, staring at the Eye as the lightning spread over its surface. "The means by which to do it…lie within." He gestured at the dome, and Ken gasped.

"Magnus! You don't mean…"

"There is no other way Ken. You and your friends are defeated. I energised Wormmon, but he'll only be strong enough to protect you, not take on Akutenshimon. As soon as the Eye is opened, I must race him to the Relic."

"Magnus no! You don't know what you're doing! It'll corrupt you, control you in the same way that the Dark Water did!" Ken was shivering with fear and desperation. He hadn't felt like this in so long, not since he'd given himself up to Oikawa to make him free the children he'd kidnapped. To see one so young, so promising, and so full of life despite what he might think of himself, turn to darkness was heartrending. 

"Please Magnus! Don't do this!"

"Listen to him Magnus," Wormmon spoke up. "You can trust him. He is your friend." Magnus spun around and pointed his hand, palm outward, at Ken. 

"Then do not force me to hurt you." With a thought, Magnus reached into Ken's brain and flipped a few switches. He did the same to Wormmon, and both slumped to the ground. Magnus glanced at them one last time, then ran towards the Eye.

**"Now," **with a sound like an earthquake, the dome split down the middle and the two halves separated. They split, each part sliding into the ground until the only a flat ebony disc remained. Akutenshimon could see only one feature. A plinth about twice his height, with steps leading up to the very top, on which lay…

**"Now Daemon, I shall repay your generosity! Now I, Akutenshimon, the Avatar of Cherubimon, shall take up his Relic for your use! COME DAEMON!" ** He threw back his arms and roared to the sky. 

"Terra Destroyer!"

"Elysion Blaster!"

The attacks took him completely by surprise. Akutenshimon was flung down by the force of the blasts, causing him to hit the black disc with an almighty crash. As the dust cleared, he dragged himself out of the crater, unharmed, but with his pride mauled. 

Two more digimon had appeared to challenge him. 

**"BlackWarGreymon, and you Gallantmon. Does that mean that your arrogant master is in residence?"**

"Do not insult Lord Casimir!" Gallantmon yelled back. 

"We will not let you take the Relic," BlackWarGreymon dropped into a fighting stance. "In the name of the White Lord, and of Sanctum City, WE DEFY YOU!"

"KEN!" Ken rubbed his eyes, and saw the other Chosen appearing out of the mist. He could see Falco with them, and Ryo and Alicia, Luke and their digimon. And someone else was with them. Tall, apparently human, brown hair and the robes of a monk.

"Gennai!"

"That's me!" Gennai replied as Miyako gave Ken a tight hug. 

"Gennai managed to find us and bring us together," Jyou said, looking happier than he had before. "And then Lord Falco turned up. We've got a chance now!"

"No," Ken wrestled Miyako off and stood up. "It's not over yet. Something worse is about to happen." 

"What is it Ken? What's wrong?" Miyako had initially been annoyed at being thrown off like a used towel, but as she had picked herself up, she'd seen the look in his eyes and known it was serious. Ken explained, to the mounting horror and astonishment of the Chosen, what had happened earlier between himself and Magnus.

"I should have known," Taichi clenched his fists. "I should have known that we couldn't trust him! This was all some kind of trick! Yes! All a plot so that we'd get off his back long enough to get the Relic!"

"Taichi-san that's crazy!" Ken said, wanting to defend Magnus, wanting to believe that Magnus had really changed. 

"I'm not so sure," Koushiro spoke up. "Magnus is a deep thinker. It's not beyond him to come up with a complex plan like that, although it was pretty risky to let Daemon get Chimofu. I'm not sure if taking such a risk is in his character."

"We don't have time to discuss that," Falco kept glancing towards the opened Eye. "We must make an incredibly important decision."

"That being whether or not to let Magnus get the Relic," Ryo added. 

"You cannot allow him to take the Relic," Gennai's voice was calm and composed, but nevertheless forceful. "If he gets hold of it, then all may be lost."

"But what if he can control it?" Ken asked. "Now that he's good again, he might be able to control the power."

"The Relic is not simply a tool," Gennai replied. "It links to the evil within the heart of the user, and only be doing so can it provide the user with its power. If Magnus gives in to evil, then he will become nigh on unstoppable."

"You're right," Ken bowed his head, "we have to stop him." Daisuke put a hand on his shoulder.

"It's like I said before Ken. We don't have to hurt him. Just stop him."

"If we're done talking," Patamon spoke up impatiently, "we've got a job to do." And with that, Gennai raced off towards the Eye, the Chosen in tow.

The gullies vanished and opened onto the flat black disc they had seen when the Eye opened. In the middle stood a tall pyramidal plinth, the sides stepped to allow access to the thing stored at the top. 

"So Gennai," Taichi called, sprinting alongside the mysterious humanoid. "Any ideas on how to stop Akutenshimon?"

"There is one way," Gennai replied between gasps. "We will need the Miraculous Digimentals."

"But I thought they got used up already!" Taichi replied, remembering what Hikari had told him about the incident in Colorado."

"Yes, but they can be released again. And for that we will need Magnus, _sans_ the Relic!" 

"OOOOOOOkay." Taichi was now very confused. Their nemesis was the key to victory?

"Let me guess," he said to Gennai, "the whole 'Master' thing wasn't his real destiny, am I right?"

"He actually has many destinies," Gennai puffed, "you all do. But don't think about it too much, okay? This is no time to have a melted brain!" Taichi decided it was best to take him at his word.

The sounds of battle rang in the air all around as Magnus approached his destiny. He ascended the steps with a priestly dignity, looking straight at the Relic, ignoring the battle between Akutenshimon and BlackWarGreymon and Gallantmon going on above him.

_"I wondered when you would come," _came a voice inside his mind.

_"I'm here now."_

"Yes, I know. I've been waiting for you. I've got so much to offer you."

"I need you only to defeat Akutenshimon."

"I can help you do that, and so much more. You want to create a perfect world, don't you?"

"Yes."

"Well I can help you there as well. All I want is to be used, for my power to flow through your veins, to see it do magnificent things. Can you see the world you wish to create? Can you feel it?"

"Yes."

"Good. I can give it to you. Take me up, and I shall make you immortal. Put me on, and I will fulfil your dreams."

Magnus reached the top of the steps. On the plinth before him sat the Relic, the thing he'd devoted the last two years of his life to finding.

A ring. A simple, black ring, with red digicode symbols on it.

It seemed ridiculous, impossible even, that so small and insignificant a thing could contain such power.

And wasn't it supposed to be a bracelet?

_"Before, when I belonged to Cherubimon. But I am yours now. I am whatever you want me to be."_

The ring began to glow, reacting to his presence. He reached for it…

"MAGNUS!"

His hand froze as their voices invaded his mind, as one particular voice struck his heart. 

"A…Alicia?" 

His mind filled with images, happy images. The sweetest moments of his life. 

He was four years old. He saw Luke for the first time, though his parents didn't much care.

_"Oh Miss Vera, can I hold him?"_

"Of course dear."

Meeting Alicia for the first time. Playing in the great meadow surrounding the mansion, along with her and Luke and Lupumon and Renamon. 

_"He's so happy."_

"It's the least I can do to make up for the things I did."

"That wasn't your fault, and besides, he still loves you."

The time they'd taken Luke to the Carnival when his parents were away on a 'business trip', the hilarity as Lupumon and Renamon had disguised themselves as humans and tried to explain to a bemused cotton candy vendor that they were Anne Rice fans.

The images faded, and he looked away from the plinth.

The Chosen of Japan were there, all of them. Also were Falco, Ryo…

…and Luke and Alicia.

"Magnus," Alicia held out a hand. "Come here." Magnus stared at the hand, and for an instant his own hand twitched, and began to reach out to it.

"No!" He regained control, and the hand returned to his side. "I don't want to hurt you Alicia. Don't try to stop me."

"And lose you all over again? I've tried to live without you Magnus, and I can't. Please come back to me. We miss you." Magnus paused, trying to be resolute, but his visage of dignity began to crack.

"How can you love something such as me?" his voice was quiet, sounding defeated. "I am a thing of evil, of anger, hate, and cruelty. I don't deserve you. Either of you." He hung his head. "This is all my fault. All of it. I allied myself with the Digimon Emperor, and then with Daemon. I let Daemon get Chimofu, and now all this has happened," he gestured at the opened Eye, and the battle still raging overhead. "It's my fault that this happened to Chimofu."

Alicia tried to deny this, but Hikari interrupted her. "What? What did you say? You know why Chimofu is acting like this?"

"Yes, I do."  
"THEN TELL ME! WHY DOES HE HATE US?" The tears came again. "I love him."

"Daemon did something to his mind. He plagued it with visions, drowned it in the misery and torment of his previous victims. He made it look like you," he pointed at Hikari, "were having an affair with Takaishi Takeru, and that the point of your professing to love Chimofu was to gain control of him." Magnus lowered his hand, and watched as Hikari tried to take it all in. 

"He's innocent," Taichi's voice was hoarse with shock.

"Is there no depths to which Daemon will not stoop!?" Iori was furious, his fists clenched, his face screwed up in anger.

"You aint seen nothin yet," Gennai remarked in a fake American accent, then looked crestfallen when he realised that no-one found it funny. He looked up at Magnus, his face grave.

"Magnus. There is another way. But we need you in order for it to work."

"None that I can see," Magnus replied.

Alicia had been watching the others with confusion. Why did they seem so confused about this Chimofu? She had no idea who he was, other than that he was very important to Hikari, but she couldn't understand why they were obsessing about him at a time like this.

Then she turned towards the plinth, and saw Magnus raising his hands.

"MAGNUS! NOOOOOOOOOOO!" She, Ryo, Renamon, Cyberdramon and Gennai ran towards him. 

The force of the Relic's fury flung them backwards. A voice came clear and angry in their minds.

_"DO NOT INTERFERE!"_

As the Chosen realised what was happening, it was already too late. As lightning crackled around the plinth, Magnus raised his hands high.

"SEGUI! IANA IWA! ATARASHI ANA IWA! BOROKU MANTARA! INAKIMA NA IWA!"

The sky was torn by thunder and lighting. Energy blazed out of the Relic in beams of pure darkness. The Chosen looked away, their eyes blinded. 

**"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" **Akutenshimon roared, realising his mistake. Magnus floated in an aura of dark energy. It surrounded him, infused him, stretched his very being to unimaginable limits. The entire Digital World seemed to cry out in fear and protest.

The light died away. The Chosen and their digimon looked up, slowly and tentatively.

A figure, that might once have been Magnus, stood where the plinth had been. Clothed all in black, hair flowing free, eyes glowing crimson. It spoke. 

**"The sleeper has awakened."**

(Okay, that was a very long and very strange chapter. Was it worth it? Please R+R and tell me your favourite bits! If you have any favourite bits that is.)

__


	21. The situation escalates

Disclaimer – I'm sure we've done this before. I don't own any trademarks. Are these disclaimers adequate?

(Thank you for your reviews, and sorry for making you wait. I could not have made it this far without your support. Just to clarify, speech in bold type indicates a demonic or otherwise terrifying voice. Enjoy!)

Chapter 21

The Chosen stared; wondering what it was that had appeared before them. 

It was Magnus, or at least it had been. It was like seeing him for the first time once again. He was six feet tall again, and his face was now thin and chiselled, like an icicle, as it had been before the Dark Water had left his body.

His body was covered in what appeared to be a form-fitting black suit, with no adornment or detail of any kind. It seemed to glow with dark energy, wreathed in black and blue flames.

**"The Relic has been unleashed, and now I am come. Let neither digimon nor human stand in my way."**

Ken was horrified. "Magnus! Don't let it control you!"  
**"The one called Magnus no longer exists. Where there once was he, only I remain. I shall do what you failed to achieve, and defeat Daemon and the Dark Champion."**

"This is wrong! This isn't how it's supposed to be! You're a Chosen child! You're supposed to protect digimon and humans from evil!"

**"That is illogical. Digimon and humans create evil. Therefore digimon and humans must be protected from the evil that they use their freedom to create. **

I will bring peace and order to both worlds."

"USURPER!" Akutenshimon flew in. **"You have taken what is mine to give to Lord Daemon! Hand it over, or I shall cut it from your hand!"**

"You mean this?" Magnus held up his right hand, the black ring easily visible against the pale flesh of his finger. **"What are you afraid of, little warrior? Do you see your doom?"**

Akutenshimon gave a shout of fury and leapt at Magnus. Magnus seemed to go transparent as Akutenshimon's fist touched him. Dark laughter rang through the mountains as Akutenshimon went straight through the image. 

He stopped himself, turning to see Magnus standing behind him, a few feet away, arms folded, laughing. Akutenshimon launched himself once again, only to fly through yet another illusion.

"What's he doing?" Takeru asked confusedly. "Are those illusions or after images?"

"Hard to say," Gennai replied. "But I think we'd better retreat for now." The Chosen reluctantly retreated to the edge of the black disc, and were joined shortly afterwards by BlackWarGreymon and Gallantmon. 

Meanwhile, Akutenshimon tired of chasing shadows. He stood still, drawing a bead on Magnus.

"Razor Feathers!"

Magnus held out a hand, stopping the feathers a few feet from his face. The feathers turned, and shot back towards Akutenshimon, who leapt into the air to avoid them.

**"What a pathetic show Dark Champion. I am easily able to turn your attacks against you. It would be in your best interests to surrender."**

"NO! I WILL LEAVE WITH THE RELIC OR NOT AT ALL!" Akutenshimon reached over his shoulder and grasped the handle of the sword with his right hand. With lightning crackling about his hand, he drew the sword.

It was four feet long, the handle richly embellished in gold and blood-coloured rubies. The blade, however, had no detail. It was just a black shape, like a silhouette. It was so black that it looked as though it would absorb anything it touched. 

**"Ah,"** said Magnus, as though recalling a fond memory. **"The Black Sword, a fine weapon indeed. I had a hand in its creation, and I know that it will help you very little at this late hour."**

"Don't be so sure." Akutenshimon ran straight at Magnus, raising the blade to strike. Magnus stepped sideways, nimbly avoiding the attack. Akutenshimon made a series of diagonal down-strokes. Though Magnus dodged every one, he was noticeably slower than before. 

The blade flashed down, and again, and sideways, an uppercut. Still it failed to connect. 

****

"Enough of this," Magnus said eventually. **"Time to end this one-sided duel."** The Chosen watched in horror as his fingers extended and wrapped around Akutenshimon, lifting him into the air and smashing him back down. 

"Don't hurt him!" Hikari shouted. She shivered, those fingers reminding her of Sadismomon. After a few more throws, Akutenshimon managed to get his sword hand free. He cut at the bonds, slicing through them until they recoiled back into Magnus' fingers. Magnus retaliated with a force blast, knocking Akutenshimon backwards and down. 

As Akutenshimon struggled to get up, Magnus walked slowly forward, blades of black fire extending from his clenched fists. He slashed down with his right, and then his left. Akutenshimon blocked and rolled to his feet, bringing his sword to bear. They struck again and again, the sky roiling and the thunder crashing with every blow.

The ground cracked beneath their feet. The Dark Ocean roiled. In their minds the Chosen could hear the cries of fear from every digimon in the Digital World, they could see the thunder and the lightning covering the real world.

"What's happening?" Daisuke yelled above the howling wind. 

"This battle is affecting the balance of nature!" Gennai yelled back, his robes blowing about. "If this keeps up, both worlds will be laid waste!"

_"This battle is meaningless,"_ Hikari thought, a cold knife twisting inside her. _"Both of them, destined to fight for good. Both of them are kind and loving souls deep down. Now they're fighting tooth and claw. How the demons must be laughing."_

The fact that one of the combatants was her lover did not make this any easier. She was desperate to reach out to him, to calm the storm in his mind, to comfort him with her love.

"Gennai! Can the Digital World be stabilised?" Falco called.

"I'm not sure! We'll just have to hope that this ends quickly!" Iori, who had been scowling at Falco, suddenly looked in surprise at Gennai. 

A few feet away, Miyako happened to glance down at her D-3. There was a faint glow coming from it. She stared at it, and looked up at Hikari, saw her concentrating on the battle.

_"There might just be a way. With my crest of love we might just succeed." _

Magnus seemed to be finding things increasingly difficult. Even with the enormous energy provided by the Relic, he didn't seem able to finish off his opponent. Akutenshimon wasn't exactly in tip-top condition himself, but he was now holding his own. 

They continued to fight, black steel on black fire, blue sparks flying into the air when they struck. Around them the Digital World seemed to groan under the strain.

"Hikari!" Miyako called, running up. "I've got an idea! You can use my crest power to try and get through to Chimofu!" Hikari looked up, hope in her eyes. 

"Right now, I'll try anything. Sora! Come over here!" Sora came over and Miyako somehow managed to explain her plan over the sound of the wind, which was now screaming. 

The children of love put a hand each on Hikari's shoulders. Reaching into themselves, they called on the power of love, seeking to transfer it into Hikari. She reached also, but not within. She reached through the haze around the combatants, and finally reached Akutenshimon.

She saw him in her mind's eye. The dark figure, strong and terrible. She reached out and touched Akutenshimon. 

The shock made her withdraw her spectral 'hand'. The darkness was stronger than she could have thought possible. It was blocking her out completely.

She decided on a different strategy. She eased herself in slowly, taking advantage of the gaps in his concentration. He was expending most of his energies on the battle, a battle that would not soon end.

She knew that she should perhaps try to reach Magnus instead, but doing so would leave him helpless in the face of Akutenshimon's fury. Admittedly it would be vice-versa if she succeeded with Akutenshimon, but she had to follow her heart.

And perhaps Magnus had retained enough of himself to know when to stop.

She could already feel something. She was burrowing through his defences, aimed like an arrow for his heart. 

_"NO! PLEASE! SPARE HER!"_

"Not him too! Have mercy!"

"They've done nothing! Let them be!"

"NO! I'LL DO ANYTHING! JUST…!"

"I'll get you someday! I don't know how! I don't know when! But I'll GET YOU!"

She did her best to ignore the horrible images floating around her. Grief, despair, torture, torment. All of Sadismomon's victims were there, their final moments playing out in lurid detail.

_"These must be his memories."_

They wrenched at her heart, but she kept going. She could soon feel the same evil presence that she'd felt back at the Dark Ocean, and again, when Daemon had invaded the world. 

_"I'm getting close. This must be the conditioning." _She tried to go further, but could not. She had reached the walls of his heart, the gates of the citadel. Her mind gave the image of great iron-barred gates, rising into the clouds before her, and walls of granite stretching far beyond her field of vision.

_"He's still resisting. I'll have to find a way in, or else hope that Magnus ups the stakes enough to make him forget I'm here."_

Meanwhile, the battle raged on. Magnus spun and slashed, but was still unable to penetrate Akutenshimon's defences. 

He looked up suddenly, and saw a strange sight. 

Miyako, Sora and Hikari were standing there, the shorter girl at the front and the taller girls behind. Pink light was glowing around them. Though her eyes were squeezed shut and her brow furrowed in concentration, she was staring at…

A desperate plan formed in Magnus' empowered brain. 

**"Come now Akutenshimon," **he said in an almost genial tone. **"We achieve nothing through this. Join me, and together we shall be unstoppable."**

"Don't try to blind me with your silken words and your veiled lies!" Akutenshimon spat back. **"You have manipulated others by playing on their weaknesses, but you will not do so with me!"**

"Oh really? I manipulate people? I give them the truth, from a certain point of view. And as such, all truths are from a certain point of view. My truths are no less valid than anyone else's truths. 

And the truth in this matter is that you are being used. Daemon desires only the Relic, and he will do anything and use any means to acquire it. I'm sorry to say that he will quite happily dispose of you afterwards."

Akutenshimon stood shivering, his shoulders hunched, then threw back his head and roared at the sky, the sound seeming to drown out everything else.

He raised his blade high, and charged at Magnus.

And Hikari saw her chance. 

For a single moment, there was only the rage. Fury consumed Akutenshimon's soul as he lashed out at the one who had denied him. He hacked and slashed with wild abandon, Magnus falling back before the onslaught, 

__

"Chimofu."

He froze. He could not believe what he was hearing.

_"Chimu-chan, it's me. I'm here."_

"Hikari? What…? How did you…?"

"By the power of love. You could not bring yourself to shut me out fully." He wanted to rage and scream at her, to beat and kick and hurt her for what she had done to him. But facing her like this, without his dark armour, he could not.

_"You must listen to me Chimofu. Daemon lied to you, tricked you, abused you as badly as Sadismomon did."_

"But, how do I know you're not lying to me now!?"

"I am the child of light. I am light, come to free you from darkness. I have never lied to you. I want to help you grow and change, to become something more than just a creature of pain and self-denial."

"But all I have is my pain. I'm not even a real Chosen Child. I'm just a winged freak."

"That's not true. You have the form of an angel, you are a thing of beauty, in body and in mind. I love you for your Inner Light that shines in you as it shines in me. You denied yourself the joys of friendship and love in order to save lives, though still Sadismomon found excuses to kill them."

"WHY? WHY DID THEY FORCE THEMSELVES ON ME? WHY COULDN'T THEY TAKE A HINT?"

"Because they felt the call of the light within you. They could not ignore it, even if it meant death. That is why I love you."

"Hikari…I…"

"Come, let go. Let go of your anger, your hatred and your pain. Open your heart to me…open your heart…open your heart…"

Magnus stood, ramrod straight, his face quite calm. The Black Sword hovered less than an inch above his unprotected head, it's wielder frozen in place by some unknown force. 

Akutenshimon suddenly began to shiver. The sword fell from his hand, clattering on the ground by his feet. The Chosen watched, none of them speaking. Magnus remained still, the angle of his red eyes was impossible to determine. 

Hikari's eyes opened, her furrowed brow smoothed. Her face went from concentration, to fear, and to pity as she saw Akutenshimon, knowing what was happening inside.

A strange silver mist rose from Akutenshimon's outstretched right hand. Then it rose from all over his body. He seemed to get thinner all over, very slowly, as though his edges were being trimmed.

His body was disappearing. His data returning to the flux, it's simplest form, to continue the great cycle.

_"All data is of the flux. Everything in the Digital World comes from the flux, and all things return to it. When a thing is used, ingested, destroyed or otherwise ceases to be, its data re-enters the flux. The data comes forth once more, formed into something new, by some unknown process, an unmoved mover, the uncaused cause." _

"_Digital is data, data is digital. The mind is the will, the will is the mind."_

Hikari ignored the thought; she did not even know where it had come from. All she could see was the shape appearing inside the disintegrating armour. 

Chimofu. Still wearing the black T-shirt and jeans from before.

The same bloodstained and ripped T-shirt and jeans. 

The armour continued to disintegrate until only Chimofu remained. His ruined clothes, his scarred body, his shaven black hair, his wings.

His wings, drooping, feathers falling away. But they were white now, shiny white, like the wings of an angel.

Her angel.

Hikari's angel.

"CHIMOFU!" Before the Chosen could do anything, before Taichi could hold her back, Hikari broke into a run, racing straight to her love, Gatomon at her heels. She caught him as he fell, dropping to her knees and cradling him.

"Chimu-chan?"

"H…Hikari? Is…that you? Was that you?" Her worried face broke into a smile of pure joy. 

"Oh Chimu-chan, you're all right!"

"Hikari," her joy suddenly drained away, as she could see the anguish in his eyes. 

"What is it? Chimofu what's wrong?"

"Why are you helping me?" His voice was hoarse barely more than a whisper. "I betrayed you. I hurt you…and your friends…I hated you…why do you still help me?"

"Because I love you, Chimu-chan no baka! You're my angel."

"All I have…is pain…all I can give you…is pain…"

"I can help you Chimu-chan. _We_ can help you. Me, Gatomon," she gestured to the assembled Chosen, "all of us."

"I am not the angel here," Chimofu managed a slight smile. "You are." Hikari's face broke into a smile once again, tears of joy dripping onto Chimofu. 

"Chimu-chan! Tenshi ai-shiteru!" She pulled him closer, then relaxed her embrace when he groaned.

"Oh Chimu-chan are you…"

"Just a little tenderised," Chimofu replied, almost managing a laugh. Hikari made an 'aww' noise then kissed him on the forehead. The Chosen smiled warmly; the sight made things seem brighter on this dark day.

Ken felt for Miyako's hand and held it, as did Sora and Yamato. Takeru, ironically enough, seemed to smile widest of all. Even Gennai looked relieved. Koushiro groaned as Mimi glomped him mercilessly and played with his neat hair. Jyou looked almost jealous. 

_"Well at least Jun isn't here."_ Yamato thought. _"Or that would be me."_

As the joyous moment flowed over them, they forgot about Magnus. He walked slowly over to the edge of the disc, and seemed to be staring out across the mountains.

Until Falco walked up to stand next to him.

"It is good to see them together again, is it not Magnus?"

**"I suppose, Casimir."**

"Is it that hard to see, Magnus? Can you not see how happy they are?" Falco gestured at Hikari and Chimofu, his tone almost pleading. 

**"I know what you're trying to do Casimir. You've been trying for the past year now."**

"You can have what they have Magnus. I know that it's secretly what you really want. You are standing on a precipice. On one side is true love and simple happiness. On the other is power. Cold, unfeeling power. Ask yourself, is that really what you want?"

**"It is selfish to want love when I have the power to change the world for the better."**

"It is not selfish to want to be loved Magnus. Everyone has the right to be happy."

**"Not me. Not until I have finished. Not until I have defeated Daemon and remade the world. Is that so wrong Casimir?"**

"At least give up the Relic," Falco pleaded. "Its power can do no good, only evil."

"Listen to him Magnus," he turned suddenly to see Alicia and Luke standing there. The Chosen were now staring at them. "We want _you_, not this…this…whatever you are."

**"I am what I am, and matters have become far worse."**

"What do you mean?" 

**"Daemon had invaded the Real World. He is presently in the process of laying waste to Odaiba, in revenge for our defiance."**

As one the Chosen gasped in horror. Their home town under attack? Their families hurt? Or worse.

"We have to go back!" Daisuke's eyes were wide with horror. "We have to stop Daemon before he kills everyone."

"He's right, we have to go back." Falco turned back to Magnus and held out his hand. "Give me the Relic Magnus, we must destroy it here and now."

**"NO! I need it in order to defeat Daemon! Without it I am nothing! NOTHING!"**

"That's not true," came a hoarse voice from nowhere. All turned to see Lupumon standing, rather unsteadily, on the opposite edge of the disc. With a few short leaps, he reached Magnus. 

"You don't need the Relic to win Magnus. You have a part to play in this grand design, as Gennai said before. We need _you_."

**"I cannot take that chance." ** Magnus reached a hand towards the fallen Black Sword. It lifted into the air and flew to him. It landed in his hand, shrinking until it was the right size. **"I must go and stop Daemon. Follow me, if you would fight also. Follow me, if you have the power within you."**

A strange white disc appeared in mid-air above the Chosen, surrounding Magnus in a column of light. He flew up until he reached the disc, vanishing into it, followed soon by Lupumon. 

"It's a Digital Gate!" Gennai was staring in shock. "I never could have imagined that he was that powerful!"

"No time to complain!" Daisuke retorted, stepping into the column and floating upward. "I'm off to fight!"

"Me too!" Chibimon leapt in after him.

"I'll help!" Ken joined them, along with Wormmon.

"Not without me you won't!" Miyako dived in after him, Poromon close behind. 

Knowing that there was no other choice, knowing that this was the only way they might win, the other Chosen entered the column. In ones and twos, their partners close by, they floated up through the portal. 

On the other side, there was chaos.

They had emerged near the river, unnoticed by the crowds lining the beach and the bridges, staring up at the creature standing in the river. It seemed to be a human-shaped robe, with clawed hands and dragon's wings.

Daemon.

Blasts of lightning and energy erupted over his body, sometimes eliciting a deep groan. The Chosen were eventually able to see Magnus, so tiny by comparison, flitting about like a gnat. Daemon let loose a huge fireball that dissipated harmlessly against his opponent's dark aura. Magnus responded with a pillar of black lightning that was similarly rebuffed. 

A few buildings sported scorched holes from near misses, though it did not seem as though anyone had been hurt. Indeed, the people seemed to be in a lot more danger from mass panic than the actual battle. 

"They look like they're evenly matched!" Taichi said through clenched teeth. All around them people milled and panicked, or else stared up at the titanic battle going on in the middle of the river, a great giant wading through the water trying to swat his tiny foe. 

"But how come?" Ken asked. "I thought the Relic was supposed to make him omnipotent." 

"It should," Gennai replied, "but Magnus is deliberately holding back."

"You mean he's still in control?" Alicia asked, her voice full of hope. "We might be able to bring him back?"

"There's a chance," Gennai admitted. "But that chance will cost Magnus his victory."

"He cannot overcome Daemon without a significant boost," Falco explained. "To use any more power would endanger innocent lives."

"We should try and lure Daemon out of the city," Yamato suggested. "Then there wouldn't be a problem."

"Sorry Yamato-kun, but Daemon isn't stupid," Taichi replied. "He's not likely to give up his only real advantage at this point. He'll need these innocent people as human shields."

"That Daemon!" Iori snarled. "Using the helpless as pawns to win a fight. There can be no honour in that."

"None that I can see," Upamon said in agreement.

"There is another problem," there was fear in Falco's brown eyes. "The Relic does not like not being used at its full capacity. It may become…impatient."

"You don't mean…but I thought it had no personality of it's own?" Ken was incredulous.

"It's identity comes from Magnus' dark side," Gennai replied. "But the effect will be much the same."

As the Chosen stared up at the battle, Gennai turned to Falco.

"This is a terrible thing to ask, but it may be the only way. You know what I mean."

"Yes," Falco replied. "I have not yet made the transition. I was hoping to retain my humanity for as long as possible. But now there can be no holding back. _Carpe fatum ._"*

"_Carpe_ _fatum_, White Lord," Gennai replied grimly. Falco turned to see his followers watching him with questioning eyes. They knew that something was happening and he didn't want to lie to them.

"The time has come…I shall now take on the mantle of my predecessor fully and completely. I shall no longer be human, nor completely myself. I cannot say whether any of me will remain when the process is finished. 

I hereby release you from your service to me. You may go, or you may remain with me. If you would leave me, give me your scarves, for you will stand by me no longer." There was silence, as now the other Chosen were watching too. Ryo stared, his face pale, and then looked at the gold scarf tied around his right arm. There was no way of knowing what was going on in his mind. Finally he looked up. 

"I'll keep my scarf, thanks." Cyberdramon growled in agreement.

"And mine," Alicia spoke up. Renamon nodded. 

"And mine also," said Gallantmon.

"We all shall stand with you," said BlackWarGreymon. Falco smiled and turned to Chromequumon, who stood close by. 

"Are you ready, old friend?"

"You know me, I've always been ready," Chromequumon replied. The onlookers weren't sure, but he might have been grinning. 

"Cousin Falco!" Luke, tears running down his face, pushed through and ran to him. "Don't go! Please don't go!" Falco knelt to hug him.

"Luke. I have to. There is no other way." His tone was gentle. Luke eventually looked up, his face sticky. 

"Will I ever see you again?"

"If you always remember me, then I will never truly be gone." He hugged Luke one last time, then stood up. He stroked Chromequumon's nose, and a strange white light shone around them both.

"Casimir…" Ryo choked, a tear welling in his eye.

"Farewell, my friend…" the light covered them both, and the twin shapes ran together into one. The light faded away. The Chosen gasped at the sight.

Six feet tall, with white gi, sash, boots and streamers. His pure white hair flowed free, his eyes glowed with an inner light. 

On his chest was emblazoned a Crest symbol, that none of them had ever seen before. The symbol appeared elsewhere over his outfit. 

"What…what's that symbol?" Daisuke gaped at the vision before him.

"It looks like…" Koushiro's brow furrowed as he tried to identify the symbol. "…Valour. It's the Crest of Valour!"

"But I thought his Crest was the Crest of Nobility!" Alicia was equally amazed. Only Gennai did not seem surprised, seeming satisfied at having completed a task that he'd left for too long. 

"No! I understand now! Casimir was not meant to carry the Crest of Nobility, just to hold it in trust!" Ryo exclaimed. "But for who?" 

The White Lord turned from them, and looked up towards the increasingly violent duel going on overhead. There was another gasp as his meaning was understood. The White Lord turned back to them. 

"Ryo…" Ryo stared in shock as the White Lord spoke.

"Casimir…is that you?"

"Take care of the others." The White Lord lifted into the air, flying directly towards the smaller combatant. 

Magnus was riding a storm of power. He had never been so strong, so able. He could do anything. The Relic's power flowed through his body, enhancing him, empowering him. He converted the dark energy with unprecedented efficiency and speed, hurling the neutral energy at Daemon. 

His senses were heightened to unimaginable levels. He could perceive every subtle pitch and tone of Daemon's frustrated roars. He could see in ways beyond human understanding, more than four dimensions. 

Godhood, in his human hands.

_"One ring to rule them all, _

one ring to find them, 

one ring to bring them all, 

and in the darkness bind them."

It was quite a good line, Magnus thought, from one of his favourite novels

Or rather one of his old self's favourite novels. 

That weak boy was no more. He was reborn, infused with the power he needed to see his purpose through.

_"MORE!"_ It was the voice of something within him. He was not using the Relic's full power, and that could be quite frustrating.

_"Control. There are innocents in the way."  
"Why care about them? It's their own fault they're still in the way! Let them look after themselves!" _

"NO! They are the ones whom I must protect!"

"FOOL! BLIND FOOL! YOU ARE WEAK IF YOU CARE ABOUT INSECTS!" 

"NO! YOU WILL OBEY!"

He screamed, clutching his head, as the Relic fought for control. His voice echoed through a thousand frequencies, echoing between the buildings, at one point shattering windows and at another being audible only to dogs and young children. 

The Relic was trying to take control. It wanted to let loose it's full power, destroy Daemon.

And destroy everything else in the immediate vicinity. Thousands would die.

And in that terrible moment, Magnus realised what they had meant, and why Ken had tried to stop him. 

"Ken, forgive me. I should have listened to you. Lupumon! Where are you?"

__

Despite his suffering, he could still feel it coming. Daemon coming in for the kill.

_"I can just keep the Relic from defending itself. Let him come and finish me…everyone will be better off for it."_

He hovered where he was, waiting for the tip of a huge claw to pierce his heart.

But it never came. He opened his eyes to see Daemon falling back into the river. His senses were becoming dull. He could barely feel the ring sliding off his finger. All he could perceive was the voice in his head.

_"Let them battle for the right to wear me. Let my Master's champion be my Master's heir."_

A chill past through Magnus, so that he could not feel himself falling. He knew what the Relic meant.

Something wonderfully warm and soft wrapped itself around him, banishing the cold. He allowed the darkness to take him, longing to sleep.

Longing to die.

The White Lord was flung back by a burst of dark power. As Daemon fell, a silver sphere broke away from his necklace, flying towards the ring, which was floating in mid air. He could only watch as the sphere shattered, a strange mist flowing from it. The mist formed into a shape. 

It was huge, as big as Daemon at least. Its armour was perversely white, when it hid a terrible darkness. 

MaloMyotismon.

The Chosen stared up at the newcomer, knives twisting in their guts. Their oldest and most terrible enemy had returned for vengeance.

**"AHA! I HAVE RETURNED! AND NOW I SHALL HAVE REVENGE!"**

Lupumon landed with the Chosen, an unconscious Magnus in his arms. Alicia ran to him and took him in her arms.

"Magnus! Please be okay!" His eyes fluttered open, and she hugged him tighter. Out in the middle of the river, MaloMyotismon strutted and roared.

**"Soon I shall avenge myself upon the Chosen children, and the Bracelet of my ancient master Cherubimon shall** **be mine!"**

**"NO!" **Daemon was standing now. **"The Relic is mine by right! Dare you defy Daemon!?"**

"HAVE AT YOU!"

The pair clashed, swirling the waters around them. Several buildings had the misfortune to get in their way, shattering as huge bodies crashed into them.

Daisuke clenched his teeth and snarled at the sight. 

"Come on you guys! I'm not gonna let Dark Smackdown twenty-first century wreck the city! Right? Guys?" He turned, and saw the Chosen and their partners staring into space. Their faces blank, their minds lost in some invisible fantasy.

"Oh no! What's wrong!?" 

"They've lost their marbles!" Chibimon remarked. 

"MaloMyotismon's aura is affecting their minds," Gennai was thankfully unaffected. "They are trapped in fantasies where they are granted what they desperately desire. You were unaffected because you are stronger, and because your deep-seated desires have been fulfilled."

_"Because I have friends. I have Chibimon and Ken. They are the friends I always wanted." _

It felt good to be complimented by Gennai, but the scene still troubled him. It made him wonder just what needs they could possibly have that were so desperate. 

Okay, Ken, Chimofu and Magnus weren't so hard, but Taichi-senpai?"

"I have to get them out," he said, his heart resolved. "I have to go in and drag them out."

"Bring out Magnus, Ken, Taichi, Yamato and their partners," Gennai said. "They are needed to defeat MaloMyotismon and Daemon. There is no time to rescue the others."

"Okay," Daisuke squared his shoulders. "Ready Chibimon?"

"Ready!" Chibimon jumped onto his shoulder as Gennai held out his hand.

And his world went black.

(Okay, this is probably getting very dark and scary. Any more darkness, just ask. I'm not sure if this final sequence is exactly correct, I never saw these episodes so I don't know how Daisuke got into the other fantasies. If this particular aspect is incorrect, please don't flame me! By the way:

* This should translate as 'Seize your destiny". My Latin is rather rusty. No flames please, though I would appreciate a correct translation. Also, is my limited command of Japanese proving effective?

As for my characters, Magnus and Chimofu have been described by a correspondent of mine as extreme versions of Ken. Do you agree? Either way, your reviews are always appreciated!)

__

__ ****


	22. On an angel's wings, my destiny

Disclaimer – I don't own any trademarks etc

(So here we are, the final chapter. Thanks to everyone for their reviews. I couldn't have come so far without you. This fic isn't perfect but I'm doing my humble best. Enjoy!)

Chapter 22

The Chamber was enormous, tall beyond vision and lined with tall pillars. The floor was filled with a loose gathering of humans and a few digimon, milling around before the dais. 

The doors swung open.

The whispered conversations were hushed, the muted rumble of noise replaced by perfect silence.

The tall figure walked slowly into the room. He was so small against the majesty of this chamber, but he nevertheless seemed to fill it with a quiet majesty of his own. As he moved forward, the crowd parted to let him pass. Some bowed, some knelt, others made fluttering gestures of deference. 

Delegates from every nation, every people, every creed. All bowed before this one man as he ascended marble steps. As he reached the top and turned, they called out in one voice.

"Hail Magnus! Imperator Rex!"

He sat upon the throne, letting the noise roll over him. The Emperor of Humanity was in council. 

"Is it just me or is it cold in here?" Taichi remarked. He, Ken, Daisuke, Yamato and their digimon were standing in one corner of the throne room, watching the situation play out before their eyes. 

"This is his fantasy?" Daisuke was staring in amazement. "It's like something out of…well…some kind of story!"

"Believe me, this _is _his fantasy," Ken replied grimly. "Ruling the world and changing it for the better."

"Yeah right," Yamato snorted. "Listen to all this. Terraforming the Sahara Desert? Eliminating poverty? Cure for Cancer? Nuclear disarmament? This is ridiculous."

"What's wrong with all that?" Daisuke was surprised by Yamato's scorn.

"Nothing's wrong with any of this in itself," Yamato replied. "But just look at those delegates. Everyone's got something to show him. They're like a bunch of little kids wanting to show daddy their gold stars. And they're all delighted with one another. Genuinely!" He looked up as the delegates hurrahed at a proclamation that 70% of all nuclear weapons had been safely decommissioned and that the rest would be done within three months. 

"So?"

"So, it's crazy. These aren't real politicians at all. No backstabbing, no jealousy, no secret agendas, everybody working together for a better future. It's like some kid's fantasy."

"Uh Yamato, this _is _some kid's fantasy," Taichi pointed out. "Can we just get Magnus and get back to reality okay?"

"You guys stay here," Ken said. "Let me do this."

"You? Alone?" Yamato was incredulous.

"Uh Ken, I know you and Magnus have got, like, a history and all," Daisuke said cautiously. "But do you think you can pull him out alone?"

"You pulled me out Daisuke," Ken replied with a grin. "And I know Magnus better than anyone here. Perhaps better than he knows himself."

"Well, good luck!"

Magnus had just been listening to a report on the new recycling measures when the delegate froze in mid speech. Everything went still as though in a freeze frame. He was not surprised.

"Yes Ken, I know it's you. And I know that this is a fantasy created by MaloMyotismon's aura as a means of keeping us out of the fight. Rather effective too. At present, the only thing that stands between him and World Domination is his rivalry with Daemon. And so, you come to see me."

"Magnus, we need your help," Ken pleaded, stepping between the statuesque delegates. "The only way to stop those two is with Gennai-san's plan, and we need you for that."

"Do you really," Magnus said sarcastically. He stood up and walked down the steps towards Ken. In his adult form he towered over his former master and self-proclaimed redeemer.

"There's only one way in which they can be stopped now Ken. It's all written in an ancient prophecy found by Gennai only recently. I believe it reads:

_Courage, Friendship, Kindness_

The foursome trinity,

Nobility and Hope and Light

Shall set the saviour free.

Like all the others. Utterly incomprehensible and ending with some gobbledegook begging the reader to recycle and threatening suicide for non co-operation."

"But would you prefer this, Magnus?" Ken was desperate now. "A little world inside your own mind? Would you prefer to wallow in your fantasies while real people suffer?" Magnus looked Ken in the eyes, and the familiar forlorn expression was visible.

"No Ken, I would not. I just…" he hesitated. "I just wish that some day it could be like this. A perfect world, with no more squabbling and no more meaningless suffering."

"I know, Magnus," Ken reached out and touched his hand. "It was hard to give up a chance to be with Osamu again."

"I see. Lupumon, are you ready?" The blue digimon materialised beside him.

"I'm ready Magnus."

"Then I think it's time we went."

****

As they emerged, Gennai came running up to them.

"You did it Daisuke! Excellent!"

"Thanks! Now what was that plan you were telling us about?" They all listened as Gennai recited the same prophecy as Magnus had before.

"A foursome trinity?" Yamato was incredulous. "A trinity is of three. It can't be four and three."

"We know that Courage, Friendship and Kindness are crest powers, as are Hope and Light. But what about Nobility?" Taichi queried.

"Nobility is also a crest," Gennai reached into his robes. He brought out his hand and opened it. A crest sat in the palm of his hand.

"But whose is it?" Daisuke asked. The crest glowed, lifting slowly into the air…

…and flew straight to Magnus, whose eyes widened with shock.

"But…no! It can't…it can't be mine!"

"Nobility?" Taichi stared at the glowing crest floating between Magnus' outstretched hands. "This time, Gennai-san, I think you _have _made a mistake."

"There is no mistake, Taichi-kun. Magnus is the child of Nobility. Strange though it may seem." As Magnus sunk to his knees, Gennai walked over to Takeru and Hikari, who were both staring into space. 

"I don't have much power left. I have to return to Digiworld and replenish myself. But first, I must release these two." His eyes glowed, and Hikari and Takeru snapped out of their trances.

"What?" Takeru was bewildered. "Where am I? Why does Magnus have a crest? What was that?"

"I must go now. Good luck Chosen children. For all our sakes, you must not fail." Gennai began to dematerialise.

"No!" Taichi yelled. "You can't leave now! We haven't figured this out yet!" But it was no use. Gennai was gone, returned to the world from whence he came. Taichi slumped to the ground.

"Typical! This is just…typical!"

"Come on Onnichan," Hikari patted him on the shoulder. "Don't give up yet."

"Yeah," Agumon added. "We believe in you!"

"I'd believe in me too," Taichi retorted, getting up, "if I could figure out this prophecy!"

"Maybe the trinity is the three Crest powers," Takeru mused, after hearing the prophecy from his brother." 

"It could be," Yamato agreed. "But then where does the four come from?"

"Well You and I have Courage and Friendship," Taichi replied, "and Ken has Kindness. We've got Hope, Light and Nobility. But…"

Then he walked over to a nearby lamppost and started head banging.

"How…could…I…have…been…such…an …idiot?"

"Stop that Onnichan!" Hikari pulled him away. "You're denting your brain and it doesn't need any more damage!"

"What do you mean?" Ken asked. "Have you figured it out?"

"It's Daisuke! He has Courage _and_ Friendship! The trinity of four! Three Crests! Four Chosen!"

"But now we need the Miraculous Digimentals," Hikari spoke up. "How do we get those?"

"I know how," Magnus stood up. "The Crest of Hope and Light are needed to activate the Digimentals, but it is the Crest of Nobility which must provide them. _If_ the Crest is even mine."

"It is yours Magnus," Lupumon appeared beside him. "I can feel its power glowing in your heart." Magnus stood silent for a few moments then raised his right hand on which he wore the Digi-gauntlet.

"Well at least I know what this is for." He slotted the crest into a slot on the back of his hand."

"That's a pretty neat gadget," Taichi commented. "Maybe Koushiro will make me one."

"What are you planning?" Ken asked Magnus.

"I will attempt to channel positive energy through my body and use it to release the Miraculous Digimentals."

"Can you handle that much energy?"

"I'm not sure, but I have to try. I must atone for what I've done, and this is the least I can do."

"You'll do no such thing!" They all spun around to see a bedraggled figure stumbling towards them, a gun pointed at Ken's head. The digimon dropped into combat stances, snarling. 

"Oikawa!"

"You're not going anywhere." There was a mad look in his eyes. "Not until I get some answers!"

"You scumbag!" Taichi was enraged by his unwanted intrusion. "Can't you see we're trying to save the world here!?"

"Yeah," Oikawa replied, grinning. "I overheard everything, and you can't save the world if little Ichijouji Ken has a BULLET IN THE BRAIN!" He cocked the gun for effect. Ken showed no fear.

"What do you want Oikawa-san?" he asked calmly.

"What do I want? I'll tell you what I want! I want my memories back! You did something to me and now I can't remember!"

"That's quite enough of that Oikawa," Magnus stepped in front of Ken. "It was I who took your memories. If you want them back, then here they are." Magnus stared intently at Oikawa. 

Energy beams shot from his eyes and struck Oikawa's own. He writhed and shuddered, Magnus' mind penetrating his own, moulding its form into old and familiar shapes. Oikawa screamed as every detail of his life flashed before his eyes, sometimes stopping, reversing, then continuing. Ken and the others stared in horror at Magnus, whose faced was twisted into a snarl of hate.

The eye beams disappeared, and Oikawa slumped forward, clutching his head and shaking.

"There," Magnus said quietly. "I have given you what you want." Taichi stared at Magnus, then at Oikawa. He didn't like the look of what Magnus had done but it was also very hard for him to feel any sympathy for the man in front of him.

Then he realised that Oikawa was sobbing.

"No…no! …NO! THIS CAN'T BE! HOW CAN THIS HAVE…?" He babbled incoherently, shuddering and clutching his head, the gun dropping from his hand. "What have I done?" 

To Daisuke this was all very familiar. It was just like when they had defeated the Digimon Emperor. Oikawa looked up again, straight at Magnus.

"I…I didn't mean to…I should never have done it." Ken stared at Oikawa, the anger in his heart wrestling with a growing pity for this wretched, tortured man. Then he looked at Magnus, and saw the look in his eyes. 

"What is he talking about Magnus?" Then with a sudden flash of insight, "what did he do to you?"

"Another day," Magnus replied emotionlessly, "if we survive this one."

Oikawa did not hear any of this. All he could see was their eyes. The eyes of the children he'd promised glory, the men he'd offered power, all to achieve a single purpose.

Oh what a selfish, cruel and meaningless purpose! To try and go where he could not, to the place that was born in the hearts of children. To drown his pain in childish innocence. 

And the fruit of his labour was plain to see. It was obvious that he could never achieve his dream. For one such as himself to enter the Digital World would be to pollute it, to corrupt it, to replace innocence with experience. 

_Lo, a shadow of horror is risen_

In Eternity! Unknown, unprolific,

Self-clos'd, all-repelling: what demon

Hath formed this abominable void, 

This soul-shudd'ring vacuum? *

Desperate to escape the black morass that surrounded him, he focused on Ken, the one he'd used so perversely. 

Then he noticed that they were all looking at something behind him. He shifted his knees to turn and look…

…and the bottom fell out of his heart.

There they were. All of them. Standing there, like some horror-movie nightmare, staring at him.

"What do you want!?" Even his voice was fearful.

"You said you'd make us geniuses," the foremost child said accusingly.

"You promised us," the others said in unison.

Ken remembered the children without difficulty. They had been in the van, waiting for Oikawa to grant them what they most desired…

…and in so doing sully their innocence and poison their souls. Like all such bargains, the Dark Seed comes with a price.

"What are you kids all doing here?" Hikari asked in a concerned tone. "It's dangerous. You should be with your parents where it's safe."

"We came," said the foremost child, "to see him," they all pointed at the cringing Oikawa. 

"Okay, this is getting creepy," Taichi commented, glancing nervously at the children.

"But I thought they couldn't remember," said Daisuke.

"Their memories must have been restored along with Oikawa's," Magnus replied in a low voice. "I did not foresee this."

"Listen to me," Ken stepped between the children and Oikawa. "You don't want the Dark Seeds. You don't want to be what I was."

"But we'll be great."

"Greatness is not worth forgetting who you are. That sort of thing can destroy you."

"What's the point in being who I am!?" one boy said angrily. "I can't do anything! I keep getting C's. Not like him!" He pointed at Ken, who blushed slightly. "None of us are worth anything without the Seeds!"

"STOP THAT!" Daisuke yelled. "Never say that! Never! If you believe that, they all you'll ever be is a bunch of grunts!"

"That's all we'll ever be anyway!" a girl wailed. "He broke his promise, and now those big things over there are gonna wipe out the world! We'll all end up working on chain-gangs and stuff!"

"Oh yeah," Daisuke was thinking fast, faster than ever before in his life. "Well, if that's your attitude…then you _will_ all end up on chain gangs. If you don't believe in yourselves and your dreams, then there's no point in living. And there's no way we can stop them," he gestured at the grappling megas "if you act all down. You know what my dream is?"

"What is it?" the boy asked, intrigued. There was a moment's tense silence.

_"I wonder what it is?"_ Hikari thought. _"Maybe it's something exciting."_

"To own my very own noodle cart!" There was a crash as everyone except Daisuke fell over with one leg in the air. 

"That's your dream?" Takeru was incredulous.

"Yeah!" Daisuke replied defensively. "You got a problem with that?"

"It's cool Daisuke," Ken said, getting up. "It's just a surprise, that's all."

"Yeah well…what's so funny?" Daisuke looked down at the boy whom he'd yelled at earlier. 

"You guys…" he said, between chortles, "are funny."

"You think so?"

"Yeah! I kinda want to be a comedian, and my mom says I've got to have a good sense of humour to be a comedian."

"Er…" Daisuke paused. Destiny held its breath.

"Er…you see! You can fulfil your dreams!" Daisuke said quickly. "You've a great sense of humour!"

"Well if he can be a comedian," another child spoke up. "Then I want to be an astronaut!"

"Cool! I'll see you on Mars!" Daisuke retorted.

"I want to be a movie star!"

"Say hi to Jet Li for me okay!"

"I want to be a Race driver!"

"Always check your mirrors!"

"I want to be a basketball star!"

"TJ will give you some pointers!"

The others watched as the scene unfolded.

"It's strange," Gatomon commented. "But Daisuke is actually quite charismatic sometimes."

"I never would have thought it," Patamon replied.

"Well they certainly seem a lot happier," said Hikari.

Then everyone stared as the Crests of Hope and Light began to glow. 

When he was certain that attention was focused on the Crests, Magnus lifted silently into the air. He knew what to do now. The Crest of Nobility would shine also.

But something else had to be done first.

Within seconds, he was above the buildings. He could see Daemon and MaloMyotismon, still duking it out and wrecking everything around them. He stopped and floated in mid air. He spread wide his arms and reached out with his mind.

He reached out to the very ends of the Earth. He reached to every heart and mind, to every elderly man and woman, to every little child. He reached out to the Chosen children, tired after their battles with the Homonculimon. He found the Primarchs, and the Black Hands, dispersed and returned to their homes, their wounded hearts healed.

And he knew that it was hopeless. 

He could feel the energy out there, the energy that he needed. But he could never have it.

_"I am no hero. I am not worthy of their help. I cannot ask the race that I would subjugate to help me. Not after I enslaved the Chosen children and made them my Reborn. Not after I corrupted those who needed love with promises of power. I am unfit."_

Then, to his surprise, he felt a trickle of energy. He searched around, focusing his consciousness as best he could, and then found the source.

A little child, looking up at him from far away.

A tear rolling down her cheek.

_"I forgive you."_

He could feel more energy coming in. He could see more faces, more tears. He was astounded by their generosity.

And humbled too.

Their hearts flowed into his. Their joy, their happiness, their dreams.

And their sorrow.

_"Why sorrow?"_

The tears of the children flowed freely, mourning something he could not fathom. Their light reached across the world to him. He could feel those familiar to him. Logan and Impmon, Tanya and Kirinmon, Conrad and Psymon, Sami and Kulamon. And many, many more. A billion points of light shone on him like stars.

The trickle had become a flood. The energy filled every facet of his being, rejuvenating him, strengthening him, boosting his very being to unimaginable heights. 

Then he remembered his purpose. He siphoned the energy through his body, focusing it on a single point, or rather on two single points.

As the flow of energy reached it's zenith, as he felt as though he could take no more, they were ready.

Down on the ground, the children and digimon stared in wonder as two droplets of light fell slowly towards them. They shone like gold, and Daisuke recognised them immediately.

"The Miraculous Digimentals!" he exclaimed. "Magnus did it!"

Then the glow above faded, and something shot away from it, towards Daemon and MaloMyotismon. It raced towards them at great speed. 

Ken knew what it was.

Magnus could see them clearly. The two megas fighting, and a single point of light flitting about, trying to keep them from crushing any more buildings by blasting them with beams of white energy. 

_"Casimir?"_

"Magnus!"

"I don't understand. Why sorrow?"

"Because they felt your pain."

"Stand back Casimir. This is not going to be pretty!"

"Magnus! NOOOOOOOOO!"

He drowned out the voice in his mind. He thought only of the thing hovering nonchalantly in front of him, waiting to be claimed.

The Relic.

He could hear its siren call in his mind. For a moment he wanted it again, he wanted the thrill of its power.

Then the memory of all those voices, all those hearts, drove the urge away. As he flew closer and closer, faster and faster, he reached to his waist and drew the Black Sword. He could still hear the White Lord in his mind, screaming, pleading.

He knew what would happen. And so did Magnus.

The explosion flung Daemon and MaloMyotismon to the ground as the Miraculous Digimentals dropped into the hands of Daisuke and Taichi.

The Relic was destroyed. 

But of Magnus, there was no sign.

Ken stared at the point where the explosion had occurred, not wanting to believe it. He didn't want to believe what was plain to see.

"No…it can't be…Magnus…NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

And there was only golden light. It flowed over Ken, Daisuke, Taichi, Yamato and their digimon. It stretched into the sky, turning night into day. The Chosen snapped awake as the light broke them from their fantasies. They stared in amazement as something emerged from the light.

Silver wings stretched a mile wide. Golden skin, long silver hair and a sword of fire. It looked like Angemon on steriods.

MaloMyotismon looked up and trembled.

**"It can't be…not…YOU'RE DEAD!"**

"I was, oh Undead King, but I have returned. Quinlongmon was right, the humans have great power within them."

"Who is it?" Miyako began to wonder where Ken was.

"It's Elohimon!" Hikari exclaimed. "I remember him! From the picture in the tomb!" She looked up, startled, as MaloMyotismon gave a roar of fury.

**"Curse you Chosen Children! Once again you foil my plans! I don't care what happens now, so long as I can hurt you!" **He reared up, and gave a scream that seemed like it would set the air on fire.

**"KAMIKAZE INFERNO!" **Before Elohimon could react, he let loose a blast of red fire, straight at the Chosen children.

There was no chance to escape, no means of getting out of the way. MaloMyotismon had used the entirety of his power to create a single attack, one that would kill them all in a blood bath of hatred.

As the fireball was about to hit, three shapes leapt in front of it. One black, two white. The ball exploded.

One white shape was deleted instantly. The others were flung down to crash-land by the Chosen. 

"FALCO! BLACKWARGREYMON!" Alicia screamed. The Chosen, along with Oikawa and the children, ran to them, even as the White Lord struggled to BlackWarGreymon's side.

"Hold on my friend," he said, his voice hoarse.

"My Lord…did we stop it?"

"Yes, we did. But Gallantmon was killed."

**"NO!"** MaloMyotismon screamed. **"I will not be denied!"**

"Fool!" yelled Daemon from behind him. **"Your madness has doomed us both!"**

**"Now you die,"** proclaimed Elohimon. He stretched out his hand and the pair lifted into the sky. They struggled, but could not break free of the invisible bonds holding them. With a shout of judgement, Elohimon brought his sword around, striking them both.

For a second, they floated there. Then both shattered into glittering motes.

It was over.

**"Chosen Children."** As Elohimon spoke, they all looked up. **"The evil ones are destroyed, and these worlds are saved…at a terrible cost."**

"Please," Iori stared up at him, pleading in his voice. "Please save BlackWarGreymon. He doesn't deserve to die."

****

"Even I cannot stop death. But I can give him the next best thing." Elohimon stretched out his hand, and white light surrounded BlackWarGreymon. Slowly his body faded away, becoming one with the light.

"What have you done?" Iori was horrified.

**"I have transformed his spirit into energy, and transferred it to the Digital World. There it can be reborn in the Primary Village."**

"But I thought clone digimon couldn't be reborn," Takeru was incredulous.

**"A digimon is a digimon, as a human is a human. It does not matter where they come from, but rather what they choose to do with life that matters." **He turned to Oikawa, who cringed at being singled out. **"As for you, Oikawa…"**

"Yes, I know." Oikawa's shoulders slumped, his voice filled with resignation. "Deal with me as you please. I deserve punishment for what I've done."

**"Very well," **Elohimon replied**. "This shall be your punishment." **The assembled children and digimon backed away as a beam of white light shot from Elohimon's fingertip and struck Oikawa. After a few seconds, the beam dissipated.

The children stared.

And a ten-year-old boy stared back.

"Oikawa-san?" Iori asked, his head on one side.

"What happened?" the boy looked in panic at his hands, then at the rest of his body. "What happened to me?"

**"Your punishment," **Elohimon said, **"is to have a second chance at life. Another chance to do things differently and make different decisions. Let no-one say that you have suffered for nothing." **Miyako could have sworn that he was grinning. **"Oh, and look in your pocket." **

Oikawa did so, and gasped as he pulled out…

"A digivice? My very own digivice?"

"Wow," Jyou commented. "I guess that makes you a Chosen child."

"It does," said Iori. "Now you can have adventures and fun times, like the rest of us."

"I guess so," Oikawa admitted. "But what about…?" There was a flash of light from the digivice and something round and green materialised in his arms.

"Yukio!"

"Datirimon? But how…?"

"I dunno! I'm just glad to see you again!"

"Me too." Yukio hugged the digimon, and the Chosen smiled warmly. Meanwhile, Elohimon looked at Chimofu, who nodded and spread his wings. Hikari looked around as he lifted into the air.

"Chimu-chan? Where are you…?"

"I'll be back soon Hikari-san." He and Elohimon flew up into the air, and disappeared into the clouds. 

"What do you think they're doing up there?" Hikari said, to no one in particular.

"Probably something private," Gatomon replied. Hikari nodded in agreement. After a few minutes, they both flew down again.

**"I must go now, Chosen children. I must give my parts back their lives. If ever you need me again, you know what to do." **

"But what about us?" One of the children asked. "Won't we ever get to go to the Digital World?"

**"In time, you too shall reach the Digital World, if you are needed. Until then, farewell."**

And with that, he turned into white light and shrunk, splitting into eight parts.

Ken, Daisuke, Taichi, Yamato and their digimon emerged from the light, looking very tired.

"KEN-CHAN!" Ken looked up groggily as Miyako ran to him. They embraced. 

"Oh Ken-chan! Isn't it wonderful? Oikawa's a…"

"Yes, I know Miyako-san."

"You mean," realisation dawned on Miyako, "that was _you_ in there?"

"Yeah, kind of."

"Good call!"

"Arigatou Miyako-san."

"Please Ken-chan, it's Miyako-_chan. _Ken-chan?" She noticed that he wasn't smiling. "What's wrong?"

"Well if that's all," Taichi said. "Then I think we'd all better go home. Our parents are probably all worried about us."

"Wait," Hikari spoke up. "What about Yukio and Datirimon? Don't you have somewhere to go?"

There was silence. 

"I don't want to stay here any more," Yukio said eventually. "It hurts to be here. Everything reminds me of…of Hiroki."

"That's all right," the White Lord put a hand on his shoulder. "You can come and live with me...if you like."

"Can I?" Yukio's eyes widened. "Can I live with you? In your castle? Yes please!"

"Come then," he put an arm around Yukio's shoulders. "Time to go home." As Ryo, Alicia and their digimon gathered around him, he turned to the Chosen."

"Goodbye, Chosen children. I'm honoured to have fought alongside you."

"We'll never forget you Falco-sama," Taichi said, with a grin. 

"Goodbye, Ken-kun," Ryo said, as the light washed over them. 

"Goodbye, old friend." Ken replied, smiling. And they were gone. And there was silence and peace among the ruins.

"Magnus?" The moment was disturbed. They all looked to see Luke, who was looking around in confusion and fear. "Where's my brother?"

"He's gone Luke," Luke spun around as Ken spoke. 

"Where!?"

"Somewhere far away."

"Why? What happened?" Luke's lip wobbled.

"He tried to destroy the Relic. But when the smoke cleared…" Ken broke off, unable to say it.

"Will he come back and visit like he promised?" Luke asked. 

"Of course," Ken smiled to reassure him, unable to tell Luke what he feared was the truth. He knelt down and Luke ran to him, throwing his arms around his neck.

He would let Alicia deal with it in her own way. But if Luke wanted to cry in public, then Ichijouji Ken wasn't going to stop him. 

Epilogue

Three weeks had passed since the battle. There had been interviews, therapy sessions, endless media attention. If Prime Minister had not asked the Press to leave the Chosen children alone, it would still be happening. 

Luke had gone home, happier with the confidence that his brother would keep his promise. The Dark Seed children had been returned to their families, and everything seemed to have returned to a semblance of normality.

_"So why can't I sleep?"_

Miyako had been unable to sleep properly since the battle. She had too much on her mind, too many things had been left unsaid.

Even though it was four in the morning, she decided to get some air, courtesy of Halsemon. As they were passing over Tamachi, she noticed a familiar figure standing on his balcony. 

"Couldn't sleep?" she asked, sliding off Halsemon's back.

"I was just thinking," Ken replied, leaning on the parapet and staring at the horizon. Halsemon dropped out of sight and Miyako walked over to stand next to him. 

"About what?"

"About…well…"

"About Magnus?"

"Yeah" Ken admitted. "I just…I can't…I can't believe he's gone."

"It's hard to loose someone," Miyako put an arm around his shoulders. 

"It's not just that. I'm not sure…I mean…" Ken broke off. He couldn't say it.

"Ken-chan, whatever's on your mind, just tell me," Miyako said, in a slightly brusque tone. "Better out than in."

"I'm not sure that he's really dead." Ken expected a snort of derision. But none came.

"I can't say I'm sure either Ken-chan."

"You're not?"

"Well he's a remarkable guy, for all his faults, and he's survived worse. Who can say?" Ken felt a little happier at that. 

"I just wish I could have helped him," he said eventually. "I can't stop myself from worrying about him."

"I wouldn't worry Ken-chan," Miyako said reassuringly. "He's got a good friend in you. Someday he'll realise that." They were silent for a while, just watching the lights. Miyako knew that there was still pain in Ken's heart, but she knew just how to distract him.

"Do you think that Chimofu and Hikari make a cute couple?" Miyako asked eventually.

"I thought they were going to take it slowly?" Ken cocked his head in confusion.

"Well, they're friends and all, but I think there's more to it than that," she smiled warmly. "And Takeru and Suzuki Hiroko are seeing a lot of eachother, and Catherine has invited Daisuke to spend the summer with her in Nice, to say nothing of Iori and Norika."

"I guess we Chosen children are lucky in love too," Ken replied with a grin.

"The thing is," Miyako said just a little wistfully, "is that we didn't have to do any match-making at all. Everything just started turning out right, and not having to interfere felt good."

"You're right," Ken agreed. "It's best to let people sort things out for themselves." Smiling, Miyako rested her head on his shoulder, as the sun rose over Odaiba.

* William Blake – 'The Book of Urizen'

(Finally, it's over! What a relief! Was the ending any good? I'll admit I was mostly playing it by ear in this last chapter, but I'll let you be the judges. Any constructive criticism is welcome, and I know that my handling of the dreams bit was probably incorrect, but I've never seen that bit so I had to make do with an interpretation made from episode summaries. I'm not entirely happy with the Chimofu\Hikari thing either, as I might have made their relationship blossom too soon. Any input on this is welcome. 

As for new fanfics, if you send me a request, I might consider it. If not, I'll probably do a sequel or prequel to this work, though my muse is not entirely confined to Digimon. Thankyou to everyone for reviewing, and my humble apologies for making you wait so long. Until next time, please R+R!) 


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